Warriors: NightClan Begins
by Kristianna000
Summary: I LOVE warriors. I have always had interest in the moon so when I heard about warriors fanfiction I figured to make some myself. (Secretly, I am on Chapter 23) I have been working on this Fanfiction for about a year now and I will be uploading a chapter every day so you won't miss out!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The dark grey tom strolled across this new stretch of land to his mate, Shade. Shade was a black she-cat and when they were kitty-pets, they lived together and they loved each other very much.

"How's the prey running?" asked Shade, and she looked at him affectionately as he meowed,

"Not so good, and I don't know if cats trust me to lead them against these wild cat clans."

He was very serious, though the gleam of amusement in Shade's eyes made him melt into a mrrow of laughter. He was very happy to have her there, though life in the land of mystery made him upset, and their effort to teach their young was very much in vain, he was grateful for what he had.

"Night, have you ever thought of doing the same thing the other cats are doing?" she asked, "You know, making a Clan?"

Night was shocked at this proposal, of course, it would be sensible saying that he was a part of the clans, so cats from other places would be intimidated and stay away. Though he wasn't sure he knew the laws of the clans, and he didn't really know their function.

"Well, not really," he admitted "I just don't really know what they do. If I did, then I would tell them and they probably wouldn't be so nasty to us." Night knew they have had battles before, and every time the clans won, except for the most recent time. Suddenly he felt a pang of exhaustion, and said,

"I really just need a good night's sleep." He opened his jaw to emit a huge yawn and then meowed, "I'll sleep on it and see what I think in the morning, and maybe we could talk to the clans and learn their ways." Shade meowed in agreement and set up a makeshift bed beside him and they both drifted into sleep.

Soon enough he opened his eyes only to be in front of a huge clearing, bright like the stars, with plenty of cats. Some of the cats' smell he recognized as the clans he lived next to and he almost said something, but it was like his jaw was glued shut.

He watched as eight of the cats in the clearing stepped forward and looked at him expectantly. Two of them were orange tabbies, one a she-cat and one a tom. The other two were very wiry toms and had big ears and long tails, and the two after that were very different. One was a blue-gray she-cat with icy blue eyes and the other was a flame colored tom with green eyes like emeralds. The others were both toms, and one was a brown tabby with a ragged, matted pelt and a scar on his right flank. The next was a cream colored tom with huge black paws and it looked as if he couldn't sheathe his back claws. The blue-gray she-cat stepped forward and looked at him smoothly.

"We are the cats of StarClan, the warrior ancestors of the clans you live beside." She meowed, "My name is Bluestar, and I am a former leader of ThunderClan. My cats have battled you and scorned you, but that will be no longer. I am here to tell you that you will become a clan, NightClan." Night was very taken aback by this and suddenly he was able to speak.

"What?" He meowed his surprise. "Who are you?" Bluestar stepped forward, not answering his question, but explained what would happen.

She taught him everything about the warrior code: the rituals, the traditions, and what it meant to be a warrior.

"It is time you will wake up and then tell your clanmates this plan. You must go to the Moonpool, the place for sharing tongues with us and receive the name Nightstar and then receive your nine lives, tomorrow. I know this is a lot, but you must trust us, this is the only way to protect the ones you love." She backed away and finished up the dream with, "You will meet with the clans in about four sunrises, but don't worry, we have warned them about you and they will meet in peace on the island over the lake. There is a log to take you there, and you must continue this meeting in peace every full moon, and you are to share the news and progress of your clan with the other leaders. I believe that is enough for now."

Suddenly they all faded and drifted away. Night woke with a start. _No,_ he thought, _I have to do this_. _Tomorrow I will be known as Nightstar, the leader of NightClan._

Night woke up and prodded Shade on the shoulder. He needed her help if he was going to get the whole of the cats in the new land together so he could tell them about his dream. Shade woke up and yawned until her jaw trembled. Night explained what he needed to do, everything about the warrior code, the Moonpool, his nine lives, and what to do about being the new clan in the forest: NightClan.

"I don't know if this is a good idea," she meowed, "but I will help. I know it will help all of the rest of us from being torn apart by those savages. How ironic? We are becoming one to!" Even though what she said was dark, she had a spark of mischief in her eyes. Night suddenly felt a burst of pride, for he would be the new leader of a clan, and the clan was named after him! _No,_ he thought, _I have to think about the best for my new clan, not for my interests._

"So you'll help me round them up?" he meowed, "And help me with what I need?" Shade only nodded in agreement and then they set off.

It was a few hours before they all got together, and Night figured it would be best to address them from a large rock with a fallen log on the side, and some ferns growing around the back so any cat could enter as if in a den. Everyone looked at him expectantly and some even looked annoyed.

"All cats," he meowed at last, "I am here to tell you about a dream I had last night. I was taken into the world of StarClan, the warrior ancestors of the clans around us. In the dream one of the leaders of the clans told me that we will form a clan." He was expecting protestant yowls and caterwauls, but frank interest came from the crowd below him.

"What's all this about StarClan?" said a small tabby tom with a short stubby tail, and yellow eyes. "Are we going to believe or mistrust them?" He was not hostile, just interested and he even seemed to know the point of this.

"We are going to trust them and I believe they are telling the truth about how we don't stand a chance if we don't unite against them and become a clan of our own," meowed Night, "and I know how we can. Our clan will be called NightClan and we will be the warriors of the night. Cunning and keen with plenty of our sharp fighting skills, and, today at sunhigh, I will travel to the Moonpool. That is the place where warriors get to share tongues with StarClan and the leaders of new clans get to have nine lives to live long. StarClan will show me the way." He was satisfied when murmurs of agreement broke out among the crowd.

"Let's start with the herb cat." He said and he was suddenly unsure of his power to lead his new clan. He shook off the feeling and meowed, "I need to choose a medicine cat, you know, a cat to learn about herbs and help heal the sick and the injured. To learn these abilities, they must come to the Moonpool with me and get their powers from StarClan."

Night looked among the cats for volunteers, and suddenly a small orange tabby with a battle-scarred muzzle looked up and said she would. Night looked at her and completely understood. She was not a battling cat and she was always gentle and looked for ways out of fights.

"Right." he meowed. Night knew he must choose a deputy who was experienced and and was going to be a good next-leader. His gaze fell on a big muscular dark grey colored tabby tom with broad shoulders and a wound in his right shoulder. He knew this tom well by the name of Storm, and they were pretty good friends. "By the powers of StarClan," he was reciting the ritual for naming a new deputy of a clan. "I say this in front of the warrior ancestors so they may hear and approve my choice. Storm will be the new deputy of NightClan. I give him his warrior name, Stormheart." Stormheart was surrounded by congratulating mews and then Night said after the silence had died down,

"Now I will give a few other warrior names." He chose about four warriors plus the medicine cat to give their full name. "I say these words before the powers of StarClan so they can approve my choice of this name." Night looked at Shade and she was bursting with pride. "Shade, you will be known as Shadepelt from now until you join StarClan." Shadepelt was surrounded the same with mews of happiness and the sound of cats calling her new name. "I also say before StarClan the new names of these three cats. I hope that they will serve us loyally as full members of the clan. Soot, Dropsy and Spots, you will be known as from this point on as Sootwhisker, Rainclaw, and Spottedfur." Night stepped down and let his cats congratulate them and said while he was in the grass

"When Mouse gets her powers of a medicine cat, she will need a full name. Mouse, you will be known as Mousepelt, the new medicine cat of NightClan." He walked to her and thanked her for volunteering to be a medicine cat.

When everyone was done with congratulating the new warriors and medicine cats, Night took Mousepelt and he told the clan to stay under Stormheart's control. He was going to the Moonpool to receive his nine lives from StarClan. _This is it,_ he told himself, _I am going to receive the gift of StarClan_.

It was a long walk into the ThunderClan territory, and Night felt very nervous about it. _Trespassing in an enemy territory? What would become of him and Mousepelt?_ He tried not to think about it, but it kept creeping in his mind like a pack of snakes. Somehow in the back of his mind he knew where to go, and he didn't even doubt it.

Soon enough, without speaking he made it to the Moonpool and he knew he was there because of the indentions in the rock floor surrounding a still, shining water with the reflection of the moon in it. The indentions must have been from ancient cats here before, and it gave him a sense of security.

"Is this it?" Mousepelt asked, "The Moonpool?" Night nodded and Mousepelt asked one more question.

"What are we supposed to do?" She meowed, "Wade in it?" Night let out an amused mrrow of laughter and said:

"No." he licked his paw and drew it over his ears a few times to try to think. Suddenly he remembered. "We are supposed to lie down beside it and dip our muzzles in it and we will fall asleep." Mousepelt just nodded and went first. She did what he had said and she suddenly fell into a deep slumber. Night was a bit nervous, but he did as he was supposed to. Night dipped his nose into the still water and suddenly blackness surrounded him.

He woke in a starry clearing and there were hundreds, of thousands of cats infront of him. There were the eight he remembered from the first time here, and plenty of other cats. The blue-gray she cat called Bluestar was the first to rise and start talking.

"Welcome to the gathering place of StarClan." Bluestar meowed. "We are here to give you the nine lives of a full leader, thus accepting the name Nightstar." Bluestar padded toward him and touched her muzzle to his forehead.

"With this life," she meowed, "I give you ambition. Use it to protect your clan and do it justice."

Night felt a ripping spasm go through him and he almost collapsed. This was not what he was expecting and he had to clench his teeth to not yowl his pain aloud.

The fiery tabby tom beside her rose and padded toward him. _Oh no, he thought, they are going to do this nine times! Will I ever get through this night_? The tabby touched his muzzle to his forehead as Bluestar had done.

"I am Firestar. With this life," he meowed, "I give you confidence. Use it well to lead your clan through thick and thin."

Suddenly, Night felt a surge of pain again and it was replaced at the end with a calm feeling like water being stilled. Finally it began to ebb away and the cat beside Firestar was padding towards him. He was an elderly dark brown tom with a scar on his flank and his muzzle was white with age. He had a matted pelt which was very thick and ragged.

"My name is Raggedstar." He rasped. "With this life, I give you fierceness, use it to protect your clan like a father protects his kits. " Night was expecting this jolt and he felt the worst pain he had felt in ages. Like cats were ripping their claws down his body and he almost lashed out as if he was in battle.

The cat beside where Raggedstar sat was very big and muscular. He had a creamy flowing coat with huge black paws. He recognized this cat from the first time he dreamt. He padded over and rested his muzzle on his forehead.

"I am Blackstar." He said, "I give you with this life, strength. Use it to be protective and fight off anything that opposes you."

Night wasn't surprised when the jolt of pain went through his body and almost yowled aloud. When it began to ebb, he thought he couldn't take anymore and reminded himself, only five more. This time a wiry cat with black patches on his white pelt and a scarred muzzle came towards him. He had big, tall ears with a very long tail and he guessed this cat was from Windclan because you would need that very long tail to run fast. The elderly tom rested his muzzle on his head and gave him his next life.

"I am Tallstar." He said with a slightly raspy voice. "With this life, I give you tireless energy. Use it to run to your clans needs and be of great service to your clan." Night wasn't expecting this joyousness of running through midair. He felt as if he was the fastest cat in the world.

Another cat beside Tallstar got up and strolled to him. He was a light brown tabby with a white chest and a torn ear. He came up to him and rested his muzzle on his head.

"I am Onestar." He meowed, "With this life I give you happiness. Use it to be in the best of moods and be optimistic in the greatest times of trouble." Night felt as if he would explode with joy. This life was definitely his favorite, but as it ebbed away, it was replaced with great sadness.

The cat sitting a little farther from Onestar was an old tom with a twisted jaw and a scar on his left eye. He was a dark ginger tabby with a light pink muzzle with which he rested on Night's head.

"I am Crookedstar." He rasped. "With this life I give you the ability of speech. Use it to speak out against what you think is wrong, and use it to speak for what you think is right."

He didn't know what this life would bring. It was a mixture of happiness and the deepest depression. When it ebbed he was happy to think only two more lives next. The spotted cat beside Crookedstar was a light ginger tabby she-cat with darker ginger flecks among her pelt. Her right eye had a scar and she looked very serious.

"I am Leopardstar." She said, almost so loud that he had to flick his ears. "With this life, I give you justice. Use it to understand the cats of your clan and make right choices." He felt another jolt of pain, similar to the first one he had felt. He was relieved when it ebbed and he wondered, _Who will give me my ninth life?_

Suddenly, a pretty silver tabby she-cat appeared in front of him. He thought that she looked familiar to him, when suddenly it struck him. _Rain_! She was the tabby he first fell in love with and she died getting hit by a monster.

"Remember me?" She asked him.

"How could I forget?" he said, "I don't know how I ever found love after your death."

"I'm glad you did." She mewed. "I bet you are wondering why I am in StarClan. Remember what I told you about the heavenly warriors in the sky? I always believed, even though you thought it was mouse-brained." There was no hostility in her voice, just genuine love.

"I love you." She whispered. "Which is why with this life, I give you the gift of love. Use it to give your full affection to your clan and the others you love." He felt a calming peace and he was suddenly wrapped in darkness. He tried calling out, then opened his eyes and realized where he was. Mousepelt was pacing beside him and she said,

"Thank StarClan!" She meowed, "I thought you were half dead! Did it work? Did you receive nine lives and the name Nightstar?" He nodded and she then let out an exasperated sigh. _This is it_. He thought. _I am Nightstar, the leader of NightClan._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

By the time they reached camp, it was sunhigh. Nightstar had felt tired from his journey but he knew that he couldn't stray from his new path as a clan leader. Stormheart rose immediately and padded over to where Nightstar had come through the entrance. It just occurred to him that Stormheart had worked with the new warriors of NightClan to make this place feel like a camp.

"Greetings." Stormheart meowed. "How was the meeting with StarClan?"

Nightstar told him all about what he had seen and experienced and how he received his nine lives, and that his ninth life was from his lost love, Rain.

"That's a lot." Stormheart meowed sympathetically. "I bet you have noticed how I have tried to make this into a camp."

"Yes," Nightstar meowed, "it's coming along just fine. Will you show me around?" Stormheart looked surprised but nonetheless showed him.

The place where Nightstar had addressed the warriors before he was clan leader was his den. The entrance was the opening of the log with the long, soft, furry ferns as the backing.

"I see you have made me a bed." Nightstar remarked, "And it looks quite comfortable." Of course that was a result of fatigue, but he knew he had to help his clan with preparations.

"Actually, I had the younger cats do that." Stormheart said with pride, "I thought sense the other clans had apprentices, so should we." Nightstar nodded and told Stormheart that after he showed him around the camp, he would hold the apprentice ceremonies for the younger cats of the clan.

After he had seen all the progress that they had made in making the camp, Nightstar call the ritual that he had been taught in his first dream.

"May all cats which are old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Clan Rock for a clan meeting." Soon enough plenty of the younger cats had come out of their den and stopped eating their fresh-kill for the meeting. Nightstar told the clan what he had seen and then had said that he wanted to hold the apprentice ceremonies for the young cats.

"So by the powers of StarClan," he finished, "I hear by give these young cats their apprentice names until they have earned their warrior names, Lionpaw, Tigerpaw, Ravenpaw, Starlingpaw, Lilypaw, and Rainypaw." He touched his muzzle against each of their heads and they gave his shoulder a respectful lick. _Now_ , he thought, _just for their mentors._

"I also want to give these cats their mentors." He meowed. "Also, for those of you who I give an apprentice, you will earn your full name." He paused as he looked at the cats below. He waited a minute and the names he thought of for the warriors were soon perfected.

"I want StarClan to look down on these warriors as to give them their full names." He recited the ritual words. "From this moment forth, Fox, you will be known as Foxheart. Blocky, you will be known as Cindertuft. Once, you will be known as Onetail. Tufty, you will be known as Tuftytail. River, you will be known as Waterlily. Rainclaw, you will have Lionpaw as your apprentice. Give him the skills you have learned and make him a great warrior." He touched the warriors' heads and they gave his shoulder a lick in turn. He finished the ceremony by giving these warriors their apprentices, and he dismissed the clan.

A few sunrises later, he had named all of his warriors and some of them even had kits. His mate was one of the queens in the nursery, and she had given him three beautiful kits. Their names were, Moonkit, Tawnykit, and Leopardkit. They were so happy all the time, and the first born had an unusual silver splotch on her left side of her body, with darker silver spots within it. Her eyes were icy blue and her body, besides the spot, was jet black.

Shadepelt padded up to him as her kits were right behind her.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Shadepelt asked. Nightstar couldn't think of what he was forgetting until it dawned on him. _Tonight was the gathering!_ He thought, and it was already sundown. He had to think of who to take with him, and who to leave.

"Don't worry," Shadepelt meowed, as if she could read his thoughts, "I'll help you decide." He and Shadepelt sat side-by-side while they enjoyed a piece of fresh-kill. He talked over who to take with him and he had decided.

"I think," said Nightstar between a mouthful of gulps, "I will take Foxheart, Cindertuft, Onetail, Tuftytail, Waterlily, and Rainclaw, and the apprentices, Starlingpaw, Lilypaw, and Rainpaw. Also, I think I will take you and Mousepelt, and Stormheart. That should be good." Shadepelt nodded and as Moonhigh set out, so did he and his warriors.

By the time he and his warriors got to the island where they held the gathering, the moon was at its peak in the night sky. He entered the clearing and felt a little nervous, because the other four clans were there. He recognized ShadowClan, ThunderClan, RiverClan, and WindClan by their scents. He could tell he wasn't the only nervous one, because Shadepelt was shaking beside him.

"Don't worry," he told her, "We are going to be fine."

She nodded and they tentatively padded forward with their warriors. The other clans weren't hostile, though some of the ShadowClan and RiverClan cats were. He held his head high and waited for a signal from the other clan leaders. The ThunderClan leader flicked his tail, and Nightstar used that as a signal to jump up on the lowest branch of the tree. The other leaders did the same thing and The ShadowClan leader started speaking.

"Hello," he said, "I am Rowenstar, the leader of ShadowClan, and I understand this is NightClans first gathering. We should treat them very welcomingly, not just at a gathering, but as a new clan of the forest." The yowls that came below were chanting NightClan. Nightstar was very taken aback by his warm welcome, though he could see a little resentment in his eyes, but it was gone so fast that Nightstar wasn't sure if it was really there.

Rowenstar flicked his ears and that gave Nightstar a chance to speak.

"Hello," He mewed nervously, "I am Nightstar, the leader of NightClan. My warriors and I were all sent dreams and they all said we should become a clan of the forest. I was as taken aback by this proposal as you all were, and I am hoping that we do not become trouble to the forest. The news in my clan is that, umm, we are making our camp and we still have work to do but it is coming along fine. There are ten new kits in our clan and six new apprentices. NightClan is off to a great start." There were approving yowls from the cats below and he saw that they were mostly from NightClan, WindClan, and ThunderClan. There were about half as much as the amount of cats there in ShadowClan and RiverClan that were cheering for NightClan.

As the rest of the leaders welcomed NightClan and talked things over about the news of their clan, Nightstar had begun thinking of ways to organize hunting patrols and border patrols. He thought of the border and he neighboring clans were WindClan and ThunderClan so as the two clans talked about their borders, Nightstar decided to make those his new borders.

The gathering was soon over and his cats left to their home as soon as dawn fell apon the forest. NightClan was doing well and as soon as Nightstar had gotten to the camp, he realized how tired he was. He organized the hunting patrols and border patrols and the fresh-kill pile was stocked up. Nightstar told Stormheart to take charge of the camp while he slept. He fell asleep knowing his clan was in good paws. _And it will stay that way._ Was he sleeping thought.

About one moon had passed since he and his warriors had been made into a clan. Things were pretty normal and Nightstar was very impressed that they had made such progress. The clan's camp was fully formed and the cats were already used to the ways of an average clan. Nightstar was about to grab a piece of fresh-kill when Foxheart padded over to him.

"Yes," Nightstar meowed, "what is it Foxheart?"

"Well," he mewed hesitantly, "I think that Lionpaw is ready to become a warrior. I know what you are going to say. It's too early, but if we hold his ceremony today, then he will be totally surprised because I told him that it would be about two more moons until he became a warrior." Nightstar didn't know what to say. It was true Lionpaw was ten moons old now, and he had come of age.

"Well," he meowed, "I'm not sure. How is his training coming? Is he getting used to our way of fighting?"

Foxheart nodded and Nightstar nodded as well telling him that the ceremony could be that day at sunhigh.

The ceremony was getting ready to happen. It was sunhigh and Nightstar had come out of his den and leaped on the Clan Rock where he addressed the clan. He called the ritual summon and the clan cats came out of their dens and sat down beside the rock. Lionpaw, Nightstar noticed, was neatly groomed and was walking with his broad head held high.

"We are here," he began, "to honor an apprentice who has worked so hard to train and fight for the warrior code." He looked at Lionpaw who was quivering with excitement but was working hard to keep it inside him.

"I, Nightstar," he meowed, "call on my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice, for he has worked hard to understand your warrior code and he knows it well. Do you, Lionpaw, promise to uphold the warrior code and defend it even by the cost of your life?" Nightstar looked down and the apprentice took a deep breath.

"I do." He said, keeping his voice steady.

"Then from now on," Nightstar said, "You will be known as Lionfur, a full warrior of NightClan." Nightstar jumped down from the Clan Rock and touched Lionfur on the head with his muzzle and Lionfur gave him a respectful lick on his shoulder. Lionfur stepped back as the clan chanted his name and gave him congratulating licks on his ear.

"Now," Nightstar said, "you know you have to keep a vigil tonight, right?"

"Oh," meowed Lionfur, "yes, yes I do. Can someone do it with me? Oh, nevermind. I know I have to do it by myself."

Nightstar nodded and strolled over to the nursery. He walked in and saw Shadepelt, Spottedfur, Moonpelt, and Sootwhiskers there and he meowed a greeting to all of them.

"How are the kits coming?" asked Nightstar, "Are they growing quickly?" One of the kits stopped playing around its mother and came and was chasing his tail waving in the air. Nightstar identified it by its silver splotch on her left side and the darker splotches within the splotch. She had piercing icy blue eyes. Somehow, he knew she was going to be special.

Shadepelt nodded and snapped at the kit to stop bothering her father. Her name was Moonkit. The little kit just slumped over to her mother and sat down with an unreadable expression on her face. Shadepelt looked exhausted and suddenly Nightstar felt worried about her.

"Are you ok?" meowed Nightstar, "You look really tired."

"I'm fine." She said, "Just a little tired. This one," she meowed as she playfully cuffed Moonkit on the ear, "is a pawful, but she will grow up to be a fine warrior."Moonkit looked at Nightstar with wide blue eyes and Nightstar guessed what she was going to say.

"Are you really the clan leader?" She said looking curious. "Can I be an apprentice soon? I'm tired of waiting, and I'm already two moons old!" Nightstar just looked amused and he wondered what he looked forward to when he was a kit because he wasn't even in a clan, he used to be a kittypet.

"Not yet," Nightstar said, "you still have four moons to wait. But until then you can show me your hunters crouch." Moonkit dashed over and crouched low. _She's really good_ , he thought, _She will make a great hunter someday_. Her tail was low and swishing silently in the air. She moved slowly and then suddenly leaped forward and pounced on a leaf. She sent her head flying toward it and pretended to take a quick swift killing bite.

"That's great!" purred Nightstar, "You'll make a wonderful hunter!" Moonkit was bursting with pride when Tawnykit jumped on her and pinned her down.

"Not the strongest!" squeaked Tawnykit. Moonkit thrust her off and soon they were a cloud of fighting kits. In the end Moonkit had pinned down Tawnykit and she let out a triumphant mew.

When Nightstar got out of the den and padded to the middle of the clearing, everything was peaceful. Then when he checked on everything, he realized all that was waiting for him now was a good night's sleep. He walked to his den and settled down on the bed.

Stormheart padded into his den and Nightstar raised his head and listened as Stormheart reported. There was plenty of prey and no trouble threatening his clan.

"Also," Stormheart meowed, "there is an old abandoned fox nest near Tall Trees, but there's probably nothing to really worry about." Nightstar just nodded and dismissed him.

All he really wanted to do was get to sleep. The moon was already up and was shining in the sky. Lionfur was on vigil while the rest of the clan went to sleep. Soon enough, Nightstar dozed off into sleep.

It had been three sunrises since Stormheart reported the abandoned fox nest and Nightstar had thought nothing of it. In the air, he noticed, was a cool breeze and he could smell leaf fall coming to the forest around the lake. After leaf fall, the dreaded and cold leafbare would come, and that was when every clan would struggle to get by. Nightstar decided to go out on patrol with the morning group.

"Stomheart," he meowed, calling him over, "you can take care of camp while I am on patrol right?" Stormheart nodded and Nightstar took Thorntail, a dark grey and black tabby tom with a short tail and thorn-sharp claws, with Waterlily, and her apprentice, Lilypaw. Lilypaw was just about eight moons old, and Waterlily was probably about twenty moons old.

As soon as they had left camp, Nightstar scented fox. Nightstar paused and sniffed the air again. No, just stale fox, he thought, nothing to really worry about. Though, even though the fox he scented was stale, it lingered around him until he had to tell his patrol to go to Tall Trees to look at the abandoned fox den.

"Ok," Thorntail meowed, "we're done here anyway."

Nightstar made his way there and he saw the place where Stormheart said there was an abandoned fox den. Nightstar sniffed and he heard a low growling sound. This den was not abandoned, there was a fox in it!

"Fox!" he yowled.

The fox charged out of its den and raced toward the cats. Its jaws were open wide as it snapped at his tail and he ran even faster. The fox was a dreaded creature and it was a threat to cats everywhere. They were always crying out for more and more cat blood to spill.

Nightstar knew he couldn't keep running forever, so he told his patrol to climb a tree while they were running except for Thorntail. He needed Thorntail to help him fight of the fox. Nightstar skidded to a halt and whipped around. He charged at the fox and leaped onto the foxes shoulders while Thorntail raked his claw down his flank. The fox howled pain and shook Nightstar off his back and charged toward him while he was stunned. The fox bit down on his leg and Nightstar kicked with his other leg. One of NightClan's signature moves was jumping up, twisting around, sliding under the attackers belly and slicing it, then slithering out and nipping at their tail and biting down hard on their hind legs. Nightstar did just that and the fox whimpered and ran off with a limp.

Nightstar had a deep gash in his back left hind leg, and his ear was torn. Thorntail had a slice down his flank and they both needed the medicine cat.

By the time they got back to camp, Mousepelt was already waiting with cobwebs, and some yarrow leaves and some poppy seeds for the pain. Nightstar took his share and then went to his den to find Lilypaw had changed his bedding.

"Oh!" Lilypaw meowed aloud, "I just thought you would need some new bedding, a-and I-I just thought, uhh…" She trailed off into a stammering, muttering cloud of confusion.

"It's ok." He hushed her, "I'm grateful for it. Thanks." She dipped her head and walked out of the den. Nightstar was somewhat troubled by the attack of the fox. He had not expected it, and was feeling the pain of his wounds.

Nightstar was thinking about who to take to the next gathering which was the next night. He thought that he should take Lionfur, Tigerpaw, and Ravenpaw, and their mentors, Cindertuft, and Onetail, also Lionfur's old mentor, Foxheart. Also he should take Mousepelt and Stormheart with Whitepelt and Sootwhistkers. Good, now all that was ahead was the gathering. He was going to make sure that the other clans heard about the fox attack.

Nightstar lead his warriors across Tall Trees for another look at the fox den, but nothing was there. He climbed up the ravine and led the way across the log-bridge, and into the gathering clearing. WindClan was already there and he made his way to Harestar, the WindClan leader. She nodded at him as a sign of greeting, and he flicked his ears. Things were pretty calm and no cat had seemed agitated, so that meant the fox wasn't in WindClan territory. _I'll still say something about it._ He thought.

Soon enough, ShadowClan and ThunderClan came into the clearing with their warriors, and RiverClan wasn't too far behind them. Nightstar thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and jump up on the tree, but he flicked his ears to Bramblestar, the leader of ThunderClan, and he twitched his ears in turn as an 'all clear' signal. Nightstar bunched his muscles and jumped up swiftly on the tree's lowest branch. The other leaders did the same and the meeting was at a good start.

"Welcome to the gathering," Harestar meowed, "who would like to speak first?" Nightstar flicked his ears in question and Harestar nodded.

"NightClan has been doing well this past moon," he started, "and one of our apprentices, Lionpaw, is now a warrior, and will be known as Lionfur."He looked down and saw that Lionfur was glowing with pride. The warriors around him were murmuring appreciation, and there were even a few warriors chanting his name. "Also, prey is running well," Nightstar meowed as the mews of appreciation died down, "and I must inform the other leaders that there might be a fox loose in your territory. I was out doing a border patrol earlier today and I went near Tall Trees where the abandoned fox den had been, and it wasn't abandoned as we thought. The fox came out and attacked me and my patrol, but we chased it out of our territory, so just a heads up in case you scent a fox." Yowls of frustration broke out among the crowd.

"Thank you," meowed Bramblestar, "we will be sure to check around our territories extra." Nightstar new that ThunderClan was a neighboring clan to NightClan and that they would need to check most, next to WindClan. "In other cases," he continued, "we are doing well and two of our apprentices have become warriors also. Oakpaw and Goldenpaw are now known as Oaktail and Goldenfur." The young warriors Nightstar couldn't see until the cats of ThunderClan were yowling their names and the two cats who weren't yowling were bursting with embarrassment and pride. The one Nightstar thought was Oaktail was a very light brown tabby tom with a dark brown striped tail. The one he thought was Goldenfur was a golden looking light ginger color, and she had white paws and a white tail tip with a white chest.

"Thank you Bramblestar," Rowenstar meowed, "in our clan things are running well, but we suffered from a badger attack and luckily one of our apprentices, Pinepaw, ran back to camp and got more warriors. The badger is dead and is no threat to the other clans. In case of Pinepaw, he is still too young to become a warrior, but he deserves an honor for helping his clan that way." Rowenstar paused as mutters of congratulations rippled through the cats below. "In other news," he meowed as the mews died down, "we have two more kits from our queen, Tawnypelt, and their names are Owlkit, and Spottedkit." Happy mews came from the cats of ShadowClan and the other clans as well. Nightstar couldn't figure out why Bramblestar seemed to have pride in his eyes, but he shook off the feeling that he was somehow connected to Tawnypelt. Harestar stepped forward and said her news.

"Hello," Harestar meowed, "and congratulations on the new kits. In our clan, we have a new apprentice and three new kits. Our queen, Ashpelt, has kits and their names are, Gorsekit, Tunnelkit, and Mosskit." Welcoming mews and yowls came from the cats below as they pressed against Ashpelt. "Our new apprentice is Rabbitpaw." More welcoming yowls came from the crowd and Nightstar could plainly see who Rabbitpaw was. He was a white tom with brown patches on his pelt and one brown ear. Harestar nodded to Mistystar, and she stepped up to speak her news.

"Thank you Harestar," she began, "I have had some trouble with twolegs on my part of the forest, but nothing we can't handle. We also had to make Willowshine our new medicine cat because Mothwing died. We will all mourn for her and grieve her death. She was a great medicine cat." The cats all fell silent in a moment of grief. Mistystar flicked her tail dismissingly and that was a sign that the gathering was over.

Nightstar jumped down from his spot on the tree branch. He took his warriors from the clearing and back to camp.

By the time they made it to camp the sun was up and some warriors were out in the clearing waiting for them to come back. Nightstar told Stormheart to go and organize patrols while he got to see his kits. He walked to the nursery and Moonkit was standing right where the entrance was and Nightstar said hello.

"Hello," he meowed pretendingly, "may I come in and see your mother?" Moonkit looked questioningly at him.

"Depends," she mewed, "who are you and what do you want with my mother?" Nightstar couldn't stifle a mrrow of amusement at her seriousness. Then something that really alarmed the clan leader was that when she got angry at his amusement, her eyes turned a deep red, almost crimson. Nightstar looked shocked and dumbfounded for a moment until they shifted back to an icy blue.

"What?" she looked alarmed as well at his expression. "What's wrong?"

Nightstar just told her something was on his mind and that everything was alright. She seemed satisfied with his answer and started playing with her siblings. Moonkit was the oldest kit of the bunch, and Nighstar suddenly felt alarmed at what he saw on his kit. _Red crimson eyes when she got angry? That must be insane._

"Shadepelt?" he meowed, "I have to tell you something."

Shadepelt looked up and said she had to tell him something as well but first he would tell her about the gathering. Nightstar explained how he had mentioned the fox attack and everything else he said.

Once he had finished telling her all about it, he asked her out of the nursery and she said that she would tell him first.

"So," she began, "when you were at the gathering, I noticed something really strange on Moonkit. She was play fighting with her siblings and suddenly, Leopardkit accidentally scratches Moonkit and then when Moonkit squealed she turned to look at Leopardkit, and… and Moonkit's eyes turned a deep crimson red!" Nightstar was shocked because he had discovered the same thing with Moonkit.

"That is the same thing I was going to tell you!" Nightstar meowed, "I was worried about that. I walked into the nursery entrance and she and I were playing and I suddenly let out an amused puff at her seriousness and she just glared at me with her deep red crimson eyes!"

Shadepelt looked at him and he assured her it was just a disorder with her eyes and he told her it was probably nothing they needed to worry about. Nightstar saw that it relieved her to know her mate thought it was just a disorder, but Nightstar new that wasn't really the case. Nightstar knew in the back of his mind that there was something dark behind his kit.

Nightstar had gone out on a hunting patrol with Whiteclaw, a white tom cat with blue eyes, and Rainclaw, and Rainpaw. So far, Whiteclaw had caught a mouse, and Rainpaw had caught a vole with a starling, and Rainclaw had caught two mice, and Nightstar had caught a squirrel. The cats came back to camp with plenty of prey, because the pile before had been made up of one mouse and a small squirrel. They dropped off their catch and Nightstar decided to check on Moonkit. It had been two days since Nightstar had discovered her red crimson eyes, and he had seen it happen five more times.

As soon as he entered the nursery, Nightstar saw that Moonkit was sleeping and Shadepelt was looking at all her kits with the same loving look. Moonpelt, one of the other queens, prodded Shadepelt.

"Shadepelt," she said softly, "Nightstar is here." Shadepelt looked up and said hello.

"Are you really the clan leader?" one of the other kits asked, "Do you really lead us and make us be safe?" Nightstar nodded as the kit's eyes were wide with curiosity.

"Are you really Gingerkit?" he asked amused, "Yes, you are. Your mother, Spottedfur, does a wonderful job with your respectfulness."

Gingerkit's eyes shone with pride but he maintained a calm attitude. Gingerkit was the older one of the two. The other, the younger, was Lilykit. She was a pretty little she-cat and she took on her mother's look. She had a grey pelt with white paws and was speckled with little white dots. The other kits were from Sootwhisker's litter. They were the youngest kits in the nursery, and their names were Mousekit and Shrewkit. Shrewkit was a grey tom and Mousekit was also grey, but had black ears and her nose was very brightly colored pink. The last mother was Moonpelt and her kits were Blackkit and Snowkit. They were very different, because one was a very white snowy color, and the other was jet-black. Blackkit took after his mother and Snowkit after her father.

"Shadepelt, can I talk to you?" Nightstar asked, "It's about…" more quietly he added, "Moonkit, I think we should tell her about her eyes, and the strange power she possesses." Shadepelt looked thoughtful, and then looked confused.

"Are you sure?" She questioned, "How would she take it?"

Nightstar shot her a desperate glance and she hesitated, and then reluctantly nodded. Nightstar prodded Moonkit gently. Moonkit raised her head and looked at him confused.

"What is it, Nightstar?" she asked "Is something wrong?"

Nighstar told her that nothing was wrong he just had to bring something to her attention. Moonkit walked out of the nursery and behind it where he and Shadepelt would tell her.

"Moonkit," he began hesitantly, "you know how whenever you get mad, and then tell someone to do what you want them to do, they always do it, almost as if they are in a trance?" Moonkit nodded.

"I don't know why," she mewed, "but they always do it, every cat but you." She looked inquiringly at him.

"I think I know why." He started uncomfortably, "You have a strange force, or even a power within you. The reason cats do as they are told when you are angry is because… your eyes turn a crimson red, and that somehow has a link to why cats do as they are told. The reason why I don't is because I am your father, and you don't have power over me or your mother. Your power is very special, and some cats are scared of that, even your siblings, Tawnykit and Leopardkit." Moonkit looked sadly at him.

"I know," she said quietly, "Leopardkit told me. She also told me I was a fox-hearted coward because of my eyes. Why do I have this power, Nightstar?"

He shook his head. "I don't know." He sighed, "The best thing to do is to tell your siblings that you understand it now, and will do better. Just think of it as making you your own unique cat." He reassured her.

"Thanks," she mewed more happily, "I'll go and tell them." Nightstar watched her bounce back into the nursery, and she looked serious at her siblings and said that she was sorry for her powers, but she couldn't control them. She said she would try the best to control them.

Nightstar walked off to his den as the sun was going down and sent out a dawn patrol. He went into his den and then settled himself to go to bed. He thought that now Moonkit understood, everything would be ok and she would control it, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that that power would consume her, and she would be lost in a never ending world of darkness. Trapped like a bird frantically flapping its wings in a cage, trying to fly, but knowing it never would.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It had been about two sunrises since Nightstar had told Moonkit about her special powers. He couldn't quite grasp why it had happened, but she had a power so when she was mad, her eyes turn red and that lulled whoever she was mad at into doing what she told them to. Suddenly, Tuftytail and Starlingpaw padded over to him and then asked Nightstar a question.

"Hello Nightstar," Tuftytail meowed, "I have to ask you something. Do you think it would be time for Starlingpaw's warrior ceremony? She is, after all, ten moons and a half old, and I think she is definitely ready for it."

Nightstar looked at Starlingpaw and she looked about the age of a warrior. Her muscles rippled finely beneath her grey-black pelt and her claws, which were sheathing and unsheathing with excitement, were sharp and ready for anything that would attack.

"Well," he said, "I'm sure we could fit it in today at sunhigh." Starlingpaw puffed her chest with excitement. Nightstar had to stifle an amused purr.

When it was almost sunhigh, Moonpelt walked up to Nighstar with Blackkit and Snowkit. Nighstar could guess what this was about. Since he was already having a ceremony and Blackkit and Snowkit were about at six moons, she was about to ask about their apprentice ceremony.

"Nighstar?" she asked, "Do you have a second?" The leader nodded and then she began. "Do you think you could also fit in Blackkit and Snowkit's apprentice ceremony? They are six moons old now and…" she scuffed the ground with her forepaw. Nighstar just nodded and said okay.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Clan Rock for a meeting." Nighstar called out the ritual words if a leader wanted to tell his clan something. He saw the warriors streaming out of their dens and then elders coming out of their den. Patchpelt, Foxpelt, and Ripplefur, the elders, were settling themselves and the other warriors were coming out. Tuftytail and Starlingpaw were right next to the Clan Rock, as well as Moonpelt and her two kits on either side of her. Blackkit and Snowkit were both freshly groomed as well as Starlingpaw, and Moonpelt and Tuftytail were both glowing with happiness. Once everyone was correctly seated, Nightstar started the ceremony.

"Welcome," he meowed, "today we are here to honor the apprentice Starlingpaw, and the two kits, Blackkit and Snowkit. First I will start with Starlingpaw's ceremony." He paused and waited for Starlingpaw to sit herself facing the Clan Rock. "I, Nightstar," he started saying the ritual words for a warrior ceremony, "call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on the apprentice and honor her. She has worked hard to understand the ways of your noble code and fight for it." He looked at Starlingpaw, who was so excited she was about to burst, "Do you, Starlingpaw, promise to uphold and protect the warrior code and your clan even at the cost of your life?" Starlingpaw collected herself enough to day the ritual words.

"I do." She meowed

"Then by the powers of StarClan," he finished up the ceremony by saying her warrior name, "you are now known as Starlingflower." He jumped down and touched her forehead with his muzzle and she licked his shoulder in turn. The cats congratulated her by calling her warrior name and by pressing up against her.

"Before you go," Nightstar meowed, "I have to name two new apprentices, as you heard me at the beginning of the meeting, Blackkit and Snowkit are ready to be apprentices." He looked at the kits who both had eager faces. "StarClan will look down on you and honor you for you are ready to become apprentices. Blackkit and Snowkit, from this moment until you have earned your warrior names, you will be known as Blackpaw and Snowpaw." He padded toward them and rested his muzzle on their heads, and they licked his shoulder as a sign of respect.

"Who is going to be our mentors?" Snowpaw asked. Nightstar was already aware of her eagerness and now she showed it even more.

"Whitepelt," Nightstar meowed, "you have shown yourself a formidable warrior of NightClan and I hope you will pass on all your skills to Snowpaw, and teach her the best way to understand the Warrior Code." Snowpaw went to touch muzzles with her mentor and Blackpaw looked at him questioning silently who would be his mentor. "And also, for Blackpaw, I will be his mentor and I promise to teach him to the best of my ability." Nightstar went to touch muzzles with Blackpaw.

He felt a rush of pride as Blackpaw mewed, "I'm glad to have you as my mentor." Blackpaw was so happy Nightstar could tell he was about to yowl his joy aloud. "So what are we going to do first?" Blackpaw asked eagerly.

"We are going to patrol the territory and you are going to learn the scents of other clans." Nightstar said, "Also, your first gathering will be happening in about one more week." Blackpaw was very happy at hearing this.

He followed Nightstar out of the camp, and was very obedient as they patrolled the territory. They went to Tall Trees, the Battle-training Clearing, and the best spots for hunting, like Golden Oak Hollow, and the Acorn Trees.

They arrived at the ThunderClan border and immediately Nightstar smelled a patrol.

"What do you smell Blackpaw?" Nightstar asked, testing him, "Anything?" Blackpaw drew in a long exaggerated sniff and a few short ones.

"Is that ThunderClan?" Blackpaw asked, "Two or three cats at least." He meowed. Nightstar nodded and then the patrol came in sight. They didn't look hostile, but they looked challenging.

"What are you doing here?" Squirrelflight, the ThunderClan deputy, asked challengingly. She was there on patrol with two other warriors that Nightstar didn't recognize.

"I am here training my apprentice," he meowed calmly, "he is learning the borders and places of our territory, he's new." Squirrelflight changed her attitude and looked up and down Blackpaw.

"Hmm," she looked at Blackpaw and then back at Nightstar, "right, well, I guess you're ok. How are things going?"

Nightstar told her there wasn't much going on and that he had just named a new warrior, and then two new apprentices and that Blackpaw was one of them. Squirrelflight just nodded and took her warriors with her on the patrol. Nightstar looked at Blackpaw who looked scared, but curious at the same time.

"It's okay, Blackpaw," he meowed, "let's go and patrol the WindClan border. They are the fastest cats in the forest." Blackpaw dropped his expression and nodded eagerly.

When they got to the border Nightstar also scented a WindClan patrol, but it was only one cat.

"This is strange," Blackpaw meowed quietly, "I scent something, but it's only one cat. That is WindClan scent right?" Nightstar looked at Blackpaw and nodded.

Nightstar thought it was strange too. He told Blackpaw to get down low and make sure he wasn't seen, Nightstar wanted to know what this was about. Soon enough a WindClan cat appeared and looked around frantically as if to make sure no cat was following him. Crouching down low and sniffing the air, he stopped and he looked in the direction of what he was scenting.

A rabbit was scuffling around in the dirt and the warrior stepped lightly up to it but not light enough, the rabbit heard him and started running and got across the border, but the WindClan cat didn't stop. He ran right across the border and caught up with the rabbit and killed it. Apparently, he didn't smell the NightClan cats and started to walk across to his border and then Nightstar got angry.

"Blackpaw," he meowed, "I want you to go back to camp, and no matter how much she doesn't want to, tell Moonkit to come because her father told her to." Blackpaw looked genuinely confused, but he did as Nightstar said. The WindClan cat sat down on his side of the border and started eating the rabbit. Nightstar stood up. The WindClan cat looked up, scared, but tried to hide it.

"Why did you steal from me and my clan?" Nightstar asked inquiringly, "Are you so starving that you can't at least take it to your clan?"

The warrior was a dark tabby with yellow eyes. He glared at him defiantly.

"To me," he spat, "NightClan shouldn't even be a thing! It's made up of kittypets! I can hunt here anytime I want to!" Nightstar just looked calmly at the warrior.

"No, you can't," Nightstar said, "and I will make sure you won't. Just wait here, I have to do something, or no, she is coming right now." Nightstar nodded towards Blackpaw and Moonkit. The kit looked excited and then looked at the WindClan warrior.

"Who is he?" she spat, wrinkling her nose, "He smells funny. Is he from another clan?" Nightstar nodded and the warrior just scoffed.

"What is she going to do?" he said mockingly, "Kill me with her cuteness?" Moonkit stared defiantly, but then she just look at Nightstar.

"Yes," she mewed, "what am I doing here? What do you want me for?" Nightstar crouched low and looked at Moonkit.

"See that half-eaten piece of rabbit prey?" he nodded toward it and Moonkit nodded as well, "That warrior stole it. He is stealing from us Moonkit, and normally I wouldn't ask you to do this…" he meowed more quietly so the warrior couldn't hear, "but I need you to use your power to make him put back the prey, and tell his leader that he stole the prey." Moonkit was already getting angry, her eyes shifting to crimson.

"You stole it?" she spat, "How dare you steal from my father!" The warrior widened his eyes in surprise at her red crimson eyes. "You are going to put it back, and go crawling back to your clan, and tell them that you stole from us!" Moonkit stared for a while, her eyes were still glowing crimson.

"You can't…" he started but never finished, "okay, I'll go and tell them. Oh, here." He pushed the piece of prey toward her and she snatched it up.

When he said it, he didn't sound un-cat like, just like a normal cat returning prey. Nightstar stared in amazement at what she did. Moonkit's eyes turned back to their chilling icy blue, and Nightstar praised her for what she did, but it was hollow. He was grateful for it and how she got back the prey, but he still wasn't sure how he felt about her given power.

A few sunrises later, Nightstar had told Blackpaw to finish eating and then he would teach him battle moves. Blackpaw agreed eagerly and went to finish his fresh kill. By the time he finished, Nightstar had finished his fresh kill as well, and he set out with Blackpaw, taking him to the Battle-training Clearing.

"Ok," Nightstar meowed, "try to attack me." Blackpaw looked confused but he did as he was told. Nightstar new where he was going to attack because he looked right at his paws, so he avoided his blow by sliding back and lunging forward to strike a blow to his ear with sheathed claws. Blackpaw looked stunned so Nightstar slid under him and kicked his belly. Blackpaw flew back and Nightstar sat up to lick his paw.

"How did you do that?" Blackpaw asked.

"You can't look at where you're going to attack," Nightstar meowed, "you have to look somewhere else, and fool me by doing what I don't know you're going to do." Blackpaw understood and then he lunged. Nightstar wasn't expecting this, and neither was he expecting the force Blackpaw bestowed upon him. Nightstar's breath was driven out of him and he lay stunned so Blackpaw could add in a few blows to his belly. When Nightstar caught his breath, he added,

"Great job! I wasn't even expecting that. It's all about the element of surprise." Blackpaw looked pleased at his praise.

"Can we hunt?" he meowed, "I'm getting pretty hungry, and the clan hasn't been fed." Nightstar nodded and told him that they would learn the best way to hunt a squirrel. They made their way to Golden Oak Hollow and Nightstar asked him what he scented.

"Hmm," he meowed, "I can scent a mouse, and a fox, stale though, two or three days at least, and umm… squirrel!" Sure enough, Blackpaw was right. There was a squirrel scuffling around in the roots of the Golden Oak.

"Great," Nightstar meowed, "I'll show you the best way to hunt it." Nightstar crouched low, and then stepped lightly, but swiftly, and lunged at the squirrel and finished it off with a swift killing bite to the neck. He took the fat, juicy squirrel and Blackpaw looked stunned.

"That's the biggest squirrel I've ever seen!" Blackpaw exclaimed, "It's almost bigger than me! I want to try that." He sniffed the air and he said he scented another squirrel.

When he tried to do what Nightstar had done, it was almost perfect. The only flaw was that when he waited to lunge, the squirrel heard him, so it was a bit of a longer chase. Luckily, he caught it before the squirrel ran up a tree. Nightstar praised him and then taught him to chase rabbits and how to catch mice.

Once Nightstar had gone back to camp, he saw that the fresh-kill pile was getting low, so he was glad that he and Blackpaw had gone out hunting. They had caught two squirrels and a mouse. Blackpaw had caught one of the squirrels.

"Drop off your prey at the fresh-kill pile." Nightstar meowed, "I have to talk to Mousepelt. Hey, give me one of those mice and I'll take it to her." Blackpaw handed the mouse to Nightstar and he took it to Mousepelt's den.

The lichen that draped over the medicine den rustled as he entered and Mousepelt looked up. She was counting herbs when he came in, and she had made a nice herb stock with the cracks between the rocks that made up the walls of her den.

"Here is some fresh-kill," Nightstar told her, "and while you're eating, I have to ask you a question." Mousepelt thanked him and Nightstar braced himself as he asked her about Moonkits special power.

"Do you know why?" Nightstar finished, "Why she has this power? It just doesn't make sense." Nightstar looked at Mousepelt expectantly and she just shook her head.

"I don't know," Mousepelt admitted, "has she had any sort of growth in it?" Nightstar shook his head and Mousepelt just meowed, "Well, if she does, come to me with her. She might have a StarClan given power and use it for the good of her clan. If you ask me, she could be a great deputy or a leader someday." Nightstar felt very reassured by this and thanked her. Maybe if he made her deputy someday he could keep an eye on her, and she would use the powers for the good of her clan.

It had been about three moons since Mousepelt had told him about Moonkit's ability. Things were going well in camp, the fresh-kill pile was renewed, the apprentices were out training, Nightstar's apprentice was taken out by Whiteclaw, because he wanted to stay in camp and make sure everything's okay. Everything had been checked so Nightstar went to the nursery. He felt a gust of wind and new that Leaf-fall wasn't that far ahead of them. The colorful leaves were already falling off the trees.

Nightstar made his way to the nursery and saw Shadepelt, Spottedfur, Moonpelt, and Sootwhiskers and flicked his ears in greeting. Shadepelt turned toward him and mewed a hello. Moonkit was getting very big and Nightstar new that he was going to have to apprentice her soon. The rest of Shadepelt's litter was also getting big and Nightstar loved the fact that he would have so many good warriors.

"Hello Shadepelt," Nightstar meowed, "I have to talk to you, Moonkit, Leopardkit, and Tawnykit." Shadepelt nodded and herded her kits toward the nursery entrance. "Now," he began, "you all know how you're almost six moons. Well, I've decided to hold your apprentice ceremony today at sunhigh." All three kits let out excited squeals.

"Who will be our mentors?" asked Tawnykit, "Will you be my mentor?" Nightstar shook his head.

"I already have an apprentice..." he stopped. Maybe he could use the apprentice changing ceremony that Bluestar had taught him and change his apprentice to Moonkit and keep an eye on her. "Well, I could change my apprentice, but if I changed it I would change it to Moonkit." He added quietly, "I want to train her for her powers. You know about that right?" Moonkit nodded eagerly and the others nodded more slowly. Nightstar guessed Moonkit wanted to be the best, not the worst warrior. "Tawnykit, your mentor will be Lionfur, and Leopardkit, your mentor will be Starlingflower, both of them new warriors and they need an apprentice to train." They looked so excited that they were about to burst. Nightstar also couldn't wait for the apprentice ceremony, to see his kits become apprentices.

"Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Clan Rock for a clan meeting." Nightstar called out the ritual and the cats came to sit beneath the Clan Rock. Nightstar noticed how Rainpaw, Tigerpaw, Ravenpaw, and Lilypaw looked the size of warriors and wondered if he should do their warrior ceremony as well. _Yes, I will_. He thought.

Once everybody had settled themselves, he told everyone about ceremony and even said that he would hold warrior ceremonies at sundown if the apprentices were ready.

"So," he meowed, "now that these kits are ready, until they have earned their warrior name, they will be known as Moonpaw, Leopardpaw, and Tawnypaw." He came down to touch their foreheads with his muzzle and they gave him a respectful lick on his shoulder. "As for mentors, I have decided to give my apprentice to Stormheart. I think my apprentice is doing great, but I would like to mentor Moonpaw. Leopardpaw, your mentor will be Starlingflower." Starlingflower looked startled with respect and honor.

"Thank you," she meowed, "I will do my best to pass on my skills to little Leopardpaw." Nightstar nodded and watched as she pressed her muzzle against Leopardpaw's.

"And, for Tawnypaw," Nightstar meowed, "her mentor, I have chosen Lionfur." Lionfur also looked as startled as Starlingflower, but he took on his apprentice by pressing his muzzle to hers as Starlingflower had done.

"Thank you, Nightstar," Lionfur meowed, "I am honored and I will do the best to train her, the way Foxheart trained me, like the best." Nightstar nodded and then he dismissed his clan to go and do what they were supposed to.

"So," Moonpaw meowed, "what are we gonna learn first?" Nightstar told her he was going to show her the places in their territory and then the ThunderClan border. When she was a kit, she was brought out of her nursery to get back a piece of fresh-kill stolen from WindClan, so she already knew what it smelled like.

Once they had gone to Tall Trees, they left for Golden-Oak Hollow, and the Battle-Training Clearing. Nightstar showed her the best places to hunt, and how to hunt mice and rabbits.

"So you see," Nightstar told her, "mice can feel your pawsteps, while rabbits can hear your pawsteps." Moonpaw nodded obviously intrigued and the Nightstar took her to the ThunderClan border and all seemed well. "Alright," Nightstar meowed, "now that we've patrolled the borders and caught two mice and one rabbit, let's go back for today." It was already almost the evening and Nightstar wanted to see if the apprentices were ready for their warrior ceremony.

"Ok," Moonpaw meowed. She looked too tired to protest, but it almost looked like she was annoyed that she couldn't do more training. _I'm glad she didn't get angry_. He thought.

Nightstar had come back to camp and then asked Cindertuft, Onetail, Waterlily, and Rainclaw if their apprentices were ready to become warrior and they all nodded. Nightstar jumped up on the Clan Rock and called the meeting words. Once every cat had settled themselves, he started the ceremony.

"Today," he recited the ritual words, "we are here to honor four apprentices and give them their warrior names." He looked at the apprentices below who were each quivering with excitement. "I, Nightstar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices, for they have learned and trained to understand your noble code and are ready to become warriors. Do you, Rainpaw, Tigerpaw, Ravenpaw, and Lilypaw, promise to uphold the warrior code even by the cost of your life?" The apprentices all nodded.

"I do." They said in unison.

"Then by the powers of StarClan," he finished, "I give you your warrior names. Rainpaw, you will be known as Raindrop, and Tigerpaw, you will be known as Tigerstripe. Ravenpaw, you will be known as Ravenwing, and lastly, Lilypaw, you will be known as Lilypetal." He touched each of their head and they licked his shoulder in turn.

Nightstar dismissed the warriors to go to their vigil and he went to his den. Shadepelt went after him and said she would help him get to sleep. Nightstar was grateful and settled himself beside Shadepelt, and his- going-to-bed thought was: _I wonder who I'm going to take to the gathering tomorrow night?_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 9

Nightstar lead his warriors up the ravine and he had chosen to go with him, Shadepelt, Leopardpaw, Tawnypaw, Moonpaw, and Tigerstripe, Raindrop, Ravenwing, Lilypetal, and Starlingflower, Lionfur, and Stormheart, and Mousepelt. He had left a good amount of warriors home to guard camp, and left Rainclaw in charge. Once he had gotten to the log-crossing to the island, he was first to cross and saw that he was the first one there. By chance, ShadowClan had just come and so had WindClan. It was a few minutes, but RiverClan had just made their way there.

Once everyone was done sharing news and settling themselves, the Gathering began. Nightstar jumped up on the tree and so did Harestar, Mistystar, Rowenstar and Bramblestar.

"Welcome every cat," Bramblestar began, "to the gathering where we come in peace for one night. Who would like to speak first?" Mistystar nodded and Bramblestar flicked his tail to let her speak.

"Hello everyone," Mistystar meowed, "in my clan, all is well. We have had a plentiful season and are ready for Leaffall. We have two new kits, Ripplekit and Darkkit. We also have two new apprentices, Crowpaw, and Ripplepaw." Appreciative mews broke out among the crowd as Mistystar shared her other news. Once she was done, Nightstar decided to speak next.

"NightClan is doing well," he started, "we have four new warriors, and three new apprentices. Rainpaw, Tigerpaw, Ravenpaw and Lilypaw are now known as Raindrop, Tigerstripe, Ravenwing and Lilypetal. My kits, Moonkit, Leopardkit and Tawnykit, are now Moonpaw, Leopardpaw and Tawnypaw." Congratulations came out from the cats below as he told them about the warriors and apprentices. "We have had a boost in training," he meowed as the mews died down, "and everything is well in our clan." He nodded toward Harestar and she spoke.

"WindClan is doing well." She meowed, "We have had a few stray dogs in our territory, but all is well. I must warn you, we had to chase out a fox, so if you have any trouble, tell us. We will help if you need it." Hisses came from the crowd below as she mentioned the fox. Once she was done speaking, Bramblestar spoke.

"We are well in my clan." He meowed, "We have had four more kits born from our nursery queen, Millie, and their names are Daisykit, Fernkit, Berrykit, and Thornkit." Happy mews broke out among the crowd as he continued. "Our warrior, Brackenfur, has chosen to join the elders den and we honor him in full service of his clan." Supporting and welcoming yowls surrounded an old warrior. He had a light brown pelt with dark specks on it and one white paw. "All is well." Bramblestar meowed as he finished.

Once the leaders had finished exchanging news, the cats broke into talkative groups. Nightstar was padding around the clearing and watching other cats exchanged their own news. Suddenly Nightstar was hit and the breath was driven out of him. Once he had regained his strength, he looked up to see two apprentices staring over him looking worried.

"We're so sorry!" one of them meowed.

She was a black she cat with thin grey stripes rippling down her pelt. Nightstar guessed this was Ripplepaw and was just excited about her first time at a gathering. "I didn't see you there. Crowpaw and I are just excited, because we've never been at a gathering." Nightstar got up and meowed,

"It's ok," he said sympathetically, he saw them both heave a sigh of relief. "I understand."

"You're Nightstar, aren't you?" Ripplepaw meowed, "You look like my brother. Hey, Crowstar, look, your brother!" she meowed playfully.

Crowpaw just looked annoyed, then his expression softened and then he bowled her over in a play-fight. Nightstar was amused by their playing then he realized that the sun was peaking around the horizon and called his cats together.

They made their way off the island and into their own territory. By the time they got there, cats were getting out of their dens and eating. Nightstar looked around the cats making their way to the fresh-kill pile to get Moonpaw. He saw her picking a shrew out of the pile and another cat picked it before her. Moonpaw looked angry. Much to Nightstar's dismay, he saw her eyes turn red as she yowled,

"That was mine!" she looked so angry that Nightstar thought she was going to spring, but she held her ground.

Nightstar looked at the cat she yowled at. It was Whiteclaw, and he looked horrified. He rushed over to the scene and calmed down Moonpaw, and then looked back at Whiteclaw who dropped the shrew in a look of pure amazement and fear.

"Whiteclaw," he was so afraid something like this would happen, but he knew he had to tell the whole clan about her power. "Okay, hold on. I-I know this is weird, but…" he couldn't deny it any longer. He hopped onto the Clan Rock and then called out the ritual meeting words. Once every cat had settled themselves, he explained.

"You all know my daughter Moonpaw," he started, and the cats all nodded with wide scared eyes, "she is now an apprentice and there is something I have been keeping from you. She has a very special StarClan-given power, but none of her siblings do. Whenever she gets angry, or somebody works up a fire in her, her eyes turn crimson. Then, when she says what she wants them to do, they do it because of her power." The cats were exchanging horrified glances, while some were just confused.

"Why?" Whiteclaw snarled, "She's not fit to be in NightClan!" Moonpaw looked sadly at her paws and then looked up, angry again. Nightstar let it happen to test Whiteclaw.

"I do to belong in NightClan!" she yowled, and then it happened. Whiteclaw sat down again, and his mouth closed. Nightstar padded to her and calmed her once again.

"You see," Nightstar meowed, "she has a power, but it can be used for good. She saved a piece of fresh-kill stolen by a WindClan cat and I have talked to Mousepelt about this. She said that it could make her one of the best leaders in the history of the Clans." Then the cats below just looked curious. When Whiteclaw came and apologized Nightstar said she should be treated just like a clan cat, she could even save them someday.

Once the meeting was over, everyone was dismissed. Nightstar took Moonpaw out for a patrol and told her everything was going to be ok, but he lied. He knew something would happen, he just couldn't figure out what.

Nightstar woke the next morning with a stomach ache and went to Mousepelt's den for some herbs. Once he was there he saw a piece of fresh-kill, but it was turned over and was crawling with maggots. The piece of fresh-kill looked like the piece that Nightstar had had the last night, and then he figured why he had the belly ache. He looked at Mousepelt and she was pacing around the piece like a mad cat.

"What are you doing?" Nightstar asked Mousepelt, confused, "Is everything ok?" Mousepelt shook her head. "Well, I'm here for some herbs, I have a belly ache." Nightstar meowed.

"Was this yours?" Mousepelt asked, and Nightstar nodded. "Oh, well there's some chervil root in the back. Chew it up and swallow." Nightstar came to look and saw it right away. He chewed it up. It had a yucky taste to it, but he swallowed it. He padded over to Mousepelt again to ask her what all the fuss was about and she just shook her head.

"Why are you so distressed?" Nightstar meowed, "I don't understand." Mousepelt looked at him with deep sadness in her eyes and Nightstar just didn't know why.

"Moonpaw." She uttered breathlessly, "She… she's special, as you know. StarClan sent me a message and told me that she was like this piece of fresh-kill. She is delicious and good, but the evil inside her could eat her alive if not trained properly."

Nightstar gaped in horror at the prophecy Mousepelt just told him about. He never knew that he would actually have to train her in her power. Then he rebuked himself for being so stupid. He should've known that she would end up evil if he didn't help her!

"So," he muttered, "StarClan told you that?" Mousepelt nodded and sat down. "There has to be a way I could help her with her power. I just don't… I just don't know how." He looked at his paws for a while and then he had an idea. _What if I just tell her to get mad at me and train her to think that cats won't do what she says when she tells them?_ Nightstar knew that he could do this and maybe everything would work out.

"Do you have an idea?" Mousepelt asked, "It looks like you do." Nightstar looked up to see her standing again and looking at him puzzled. Then Nightstar realized he was screwing up his face because of his moment in thought. He nodded and padded out of the den to call to Moonpaw.

"Moonpaw!" he called, "Moonpaw, we're going out on a training session." As Moonpaw approached Nightstar told her what he would do. She nodded not too enthusiastically, but she went with him anyway.

Once they had reached Battle-Training Hollow, he looked at her long and hard. Moonpaw sat down and meowed annoyed.

"What are you doing?" she meowed, "I'm getting bored." Nightstar sighed.

"Ok, do you know how to just get angry spontaneously?" he meowed, "If you do that, then I can train you to not get so angry." Moonpaw nodded and started yowling irritably.

"I hate this." She yowled, "It's so awful! I want to be eating at camp. I didn't even get to eat anything!" Her eyes turned red and then Nightstar praised her.

"Good job!" he meowed, "I think this will be easy. Now, I am going to get something for you to eat." He left the hollow leaving Moonpaw there and went to hunt.

He saw a mouse scuffling around the roots of a tree and he crouched low. Step by step he inched closer and sprang. He finished it off with a swift killing bite. Nightstar brought it back to Moonpaw who was still sitting there but she had her own piece of fresh-kill with her.

"I caught it!" she mewed, her eyes shining. "Isn't it huge?" Nightstar nodded and had to admit that it was a fairly large squirrel. He sat down to eat his own and finished it quickly. He didn't realize how hungry he was.

"Now," he meowed, "oh, wait, never mind." Moonpaw just looked confused.

"What?" she looked distressed and he told her.

"Oh," he meowed, "just that your fresh-kill looked stringy. I'm sure mine was a much better catch." He was trying to provoke her to tell her not to get angry.

"Oh really?" she meowed anger building up in her. "I'm sure yours was just as stringy. It's almost leaf-bare." He looked at her again, then she calmed down.

"I'm just joking," he meowed, "good job. Your eyes didn't even turn red!" she was practically glowing with his praise and then nodded humbly.

Once they were done with their training, Moonpaw had pretty much gotten down how to control her anger. She vowed she wouldn't use it against her siblings and the cats in camp. Nightstar was heading over to the fresh-kill pile and found it was pretty low. He called Tigerstripe, Stormheart, and Waterlily to lead a hunting patrol, then told Lilypetal, Ravenwing, Whitepelt and Foxheart to lead a border patrol. Nightstar had the feeling that the peace of Leaf-fall wouldn't last long because the winds and rains were getting colder and stronger and soon Leaf-bare would be upon them.

Nightstar decided to go and see Shadepelt and saw that Moonpelt was talking to her. He nodded toward Moonpelt as a greeting and she nodded back.

"Shadepelt," Nightstar meowed, "I have to tell you something exciting." Usually he would take her behind the nursery to tell her about Moonpaw's latest development, but now the whole camp knew so he didn't have to. "Moonpaw and I have been out training," he started, "and she has mostly gotten down how to control her power."

"That's wonderful!" purred Shadepelt, "I'm so happy for her!" Moonpelt also looked pleased for she also remembered how Moonpaw would get angry at Blackpaw or Whitepaw and force them to do what she wanted.

"I hope she will use it for her own good." Meowed Moonpelt. Nightstar nodded and backed away. He went to his den to sleep and curled up in his den. Another good day, he thought, I bet no trouble will come to Moonpaw. But as he slept he opened his eyes in a starry field filled with cats.

The cat in the front, Bluestar, walked to him and sat. _What is it this time?_ He thought. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was a message about trouble coming to the forest.

Nightstar gazed at Bluestar with the most confused expression. He wanted to know what this was about, but something kept him hesitant to want to know completely. Bluestar looked at him like any other cat would if nothing were going to happen; expressions giving nothing away.

"Hello Nightstar," Bluestar meowed, breaking the silence, "we have news for you." Her voice was an icy calm, and fear crept up Nightstar's spine as she spoke. "Nightstar, you are a very formidable leader, with justice and peace as well as the strength to fight for your clan. But, you will not always have this, for behold, Wind will sweep through the Night like fire through a thirsty forest and shake everything you hold dear." The words chilled Nightstar to the bone.

"What does it mean?" he meowed, "What is this?" Bluestar shook her head.

"You must keep your eyes open," she said, "and know who your friends are." Suddenly everything disappeared and Nightstar woke up in his den with Shadepelt and Mousepelt at his side.

"What?" Nightstar asked, "Why are you leaning over me like I'm prey?" Shadepelt looked at him closely, a very worried look on her face.

"You just…" she started hesitantly, "you were murmuring in your sleep, and at one point you let out a startling cry." Nightstar looked at her with sympathy in his eyes, and told her everything would be fine. "Well," she meowed, "I guess you're ok. Stormheart, you can stop keeping guard now, he's ok." Nightstar looked over to the entrance to the den, and saw Stormheart padding to him, and nodded.

Once he had assured everyone, he left the den and told Cindertuft, Foxheart, Ravenwing and Rainclaw to go on a hunting patrol. He went to the apprentices den to find Moonpaw pacing around like an insane cat.

"What's wrong?" Nightstar asked her. She glared up at him, and then her gaze softened. "Is everything alright?"

"No!" Moonpaw gasped, "It's not ok! I had a dream, and in the dream, some cat named Bluestar stepped toward me and told me something; something very frightening!" Nightstar looked at her, astonished because that was exactly what he had seen in his dream. "She told me wind would sweep through night and shake the very things I hold dear… What does it mean, Nightstar?"

"I…" Nightstar began but couldn't finish. Moonpaw looked up at him, a worried expression on her face. "I had the same exact dream… That cat used to be the leader of ThunderClan and now she is a leader of StarClan, and she told be the same thing." He looked at Moonpaw to see she was trembling with fear.

"It's us, isn't it?" she murmured, "We're Night and… Well, if we're NightClan, and we're Night, then wind must be…" She let out a small but frightened gasp. "WindClan!" she whispered.

"No," Nightstar meowed, "it's not possible! It can't be!" But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. WindClan was planning an attack on NightClan! "Oh no…" he gasped, "Moonpaw, we have to tell the clan!" Moonpaw nodded, more serious than ever.

By the time Sunhigh had approached, Nightstar hopped onto the Clan Rock to address his clanmates. He called out the signature gathering meow and cats began streaming from their dens and from the entrance of the camp. He saw Whitepelt and Foxheart come back with plenty of prey and Rainclaw, Waterlily, and Whitepelt came back from a border patrol with Snowpaw, Whitepelt's apprentice. Once every cat had assembled below the rock, Nightstar spilled the news.

"My daughter and I have had the same dream." Nightstar meowed. "We have had a dream saying Wind will sweep through Night like fire through a thirsty forest and shake everything we hold dear." Many gasps came from the crowd below. "Yes, and we have made out what StarClan is trying to tell us. Night is NightClan, and Wind is WindClan, for WindClan are planning an attack on NightClan!" Furious hisses and yowls came from the cats and a few spat curses to WindClan.

"I knew that heap of flying furballs weren't to be trusted!" Sootwhisker yowled. A few other cats yowled their approval.

"Wait!" Lionfur yowled, "Can't Moonpaw get cats to do what she wants by getting angry? We could prevent this whole battle!" Nightstar thought about this. _We could,_ he thought, _but if we do, the cats would spread gossip through the other clans, it's best to leave Moonpaw's powers to herself._

"No," Nightstar meowed firmly after all the noise died down, "we can't risk having Moonpaw's power be spread through the other clans, we will not do it." Lionfur looked put down, then understanding entered his eyes and he nodded slowly and sat down. "For now, we will need a battle plan." Nightstar meowed at last, "We don't know when the cats will attack, so why not attack them first?" The cats below yowled their approval. "We will attack at sundown and we will take with us, Moonpaw, Lionfur, Tigerstripe, Whitepelt, Snowpaw, Raindrop, Shadepelt, Foxheart, and Moonpelt."

"What about camp?" Stormheart asked, "Do you want me to protect it with the remaining warriors?"

"Yes," Nightstar meowed, "yes that is exactly what I need you to do. Everyone, get ready because tonight is our first real battle."

Nightstar and his warriors made their way out of camp and up the ravine. The grass was blowing silently in the breeze and the sky was stained blood red, a sign of the battle that sunset. Nightstar wondered if his warriors were ready, but he couldn't bring himself to worry about it too much. He had Moonpaw, and she would help get rid of any warrior of WindClan trying to attack NightClan, and once the battle was over, Nightstar just knew that NightClan would prevail.

Once Nightstar and his warriors were at the border between his clan and WindClan, he smelled something. He recognized the scent almost at once, and knew it was WindClan.

"Get ready," Nightstar meowed, "they are coming!"

Sure enough, Harestar, the leader of WindClan, stepped out of the ferns that separated her clan from Nightstar's. Something about this sudden appearance made Nightstar relieved. He couldn't quite put his paw on it, but he thought it was something about the fact that they didn't know where WindClan's camp was.

"What, what are you doing here?" one of the WindClan warriors asked.

"I knew I smelled NightClan!" snarled Harestar, "Just what we need, a pack of kittypets coming to fight us. Oh, oh no we're so scared!" she meowed in mock fright. "NightClan shouldn't be a clan, it's not worthy of it! We are here to prove that point by driving you out of this forest once and for all!" At that she took and step forward. Nightstar knew what she was about to do.

"NightClan," Nightstar yowled, "attack!"

Suddenly Harestar sprang at him and bowled him over. She drove the breath out of him and he lay stunned and then she nipped at his ear. Nightstar thought quick, and once he got his breath back, he jumped up over her to catch her by surprise then ran up and bit down on her long tail and fit in some quick rakes down her sides. She yowled and jumped back then stepped out to attack Whitepelt. Nightstar saw that he had Snowpaw with him and that they were prevailing so he stepped out to look for Moonpaw.

Once he found her, he saw her standing in front of a WindClan apprentice. She jumped back when the apprentice sprang and then she skidded under his soft under-belly to run her claws down his flank, but that was when she made a fatal mistake. The apprentice pinned her and was just about to bite her neck.

"Get… Off… Me!" Moonpaw yowled. Nightstar knew she was getting angry and in a flash, her eyes turned red crimson and she flung off the other apprentice. "Go back to where you came from!" Moonpaw growled. In an instant the apprentice turned, yowling spitting curses as she ran away.

Moonpaw turned around and saw a warrior, much bigger than she was, of WindClan and the warrior sprang. Nightstar heart stopped. _Oh no!_ Could Moonpaw take on this huge warrior? Nightstar couldn't stand and watch any longer, so he sprang into action. He grabbed the warrior by the scruff and pulled him off then ripped his claws down his flank, only to be returned with a sickening scratch on his side. Nightstar's anger got the best of him and he looked at Moonpaw and nodded. While Moonpaw got angry he raked his claws down the warrior's belly.

"Get off my father!" Moonpaw yowled, then she sprang onto the warrior's back and bit down. Her eyes were red again and the warrior stepped back howling his pain. Nightstar looked around the see most of the WindClan cats had stepped back, and driven into their own territory.

"WindClan," Harestar growled, "retreat!" All the cats in the clearing ran away and Nightstar could see that she was right. Most of her cats were limping and badly hurt with scratches that looked deadly with pain.

"NightClan," Nightstar meowed, "let's go home." So he and his warriors went home battle scarred, yet victorious. _We did it_ , he thought, _we won our first battle…_

Once Nightstar and his warriors had returned home, he saw blood stains on the grass and Blackpaw, Stormheart's apprentice, was laying still with Mousepelt bending over him.

"What's happened here?" Nightstar asked, dumbfounded. He couldn't imagine why everyone was so hurt.

"Well," meowed Stormheart, "a band of WindClan cats attacked us from the back of the camp, so we had to fight." Nightstar stared, shocked, then understood. WindClan must've known that they left cats at camp, so they sent some cats to attack NightClan guards. "Luckily," Stormheart meowed, "we drove them back where they came from. Also, Blackpaw here," he flicked his tail toward the black cat on the ground, "fought like a warrior. I think it's time for his warrior ceremony. Unfortunatly, Ripplefur died. But he died fighting like a true warrior."

"Oh," Nightstar sighed, "we will have Ripplefur's mourning ceremony at moonhigh. Also, Snowpaw fought like a warrior as well, why don't we have their ceremony now?" Stormheart nodded so he jumped onto Clan Rock to address his clanmates.

"Oh Nightstar," Moonpelt, their mother meowed, "they aren't cleaned! They look like rags." She began licking furiously on Snowpaw's fur then to Blackpaw's.

"It's fine, Moonpelt," he meowed, "we will start. Everyone here knows about the battle that has just befallen us. It was sad, for one of our elders died, but also happy, for two new warriors stand before us." He jumped down and looked at Blackpaw and Snowpaw. "I, Nightstar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look upon these apprentices as full warriors. For they have worked hard to understand and fight for your noble code so I submit them to you as warriors in turn. Do you, Blackpaw and Snowpaw, promise to uphold the warrior code and fight for it even at the cost of your life?"

"We do." They meowed in unison, and as Nightstar finished he could see they were glowing with pride.

"Then by the power granted by my warrior ancestors," he meowed, "I give you your warrior names. Snowpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Snowflake, and Blackpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Blackfoot and we welcome you as full warriors of NightClan." He touched their muzzles and they gave him a lick on his shoulder in turn.

"Snowflake! Blackfoot!" the cats meowed below him and they were all congratulating and pressing around the new warriors of the clan.

Nightstar padded around to say goodnight to Leopardpaw, Tawnypaw, Moonpaw and Shadepelt. Then he went to his den to go to sleep. All night Nightstar's dreams were filled with the memory of Moonpaw ordering the apprentice of WindClan to go back to where she came from and close-ups of her red eyes. Nightstar woke up to run to Mousepelt's den only to see a dark figure standing in front of him.

Nightstar stood in shock, utterly speechless when, out of nowhere, the figure hurled itself right at Nightstar! It bowled him over then slid its' claws down his belly and was about to bend his neck it at a last killing bite, when Nightstar woke. He looked around to see that the cats of his clan were gathered in the clearing to see what he had to say about the mourning ceremony for Ripplefur. Nightstar heaved a sigh of relief to know it was just a dream.

He padded out of his den, and hopped on top of the Clan Rock to address the cats below. He saw that they had already prepared Ripplefur's body with rosemary and raspberry leaves, and Mousepelt was below applying the last bit of it.

"Cats of NightClan," Nightstar began, "we are here to honor the body of Ripplefur, who died like any noble warrior should; she died fighting. We will honor her with a moment of silence, and then the mourning ceremony will begin. We will say goodbye to her before she leaves to join StarClan. Also, think of this as a joyous ceremony as well, for she is the first of our settled clan to join StarClan." The cats nodded but hung their heads in a cloud of sadness.

"Let us say goodbye," Nightstar meowed, "to this noble warrior of NightClan." He jumped down and pressed his muzzle to her flank, then licked her head. He would be the one to sit vigil with her one last night before she passed away. He thought about asking Shadepelt to sit with him, after all, Ripplefur was Shadepelt's mother.

"Nightstar," he heard someone say his name so he looked up immediately, "would you mind if… if I sat vigil with you?" He noticed it was Shadepelt's voice.

"Of course not," he meowed, "she was your mother." Shadepelt nodded, her eyes glazed with sadness. It looked as if she wanted to wail her sadness aloud, or that she wished she was a kit back at her twoleg nest, cuddled with her mother. He padded over and touched her muzzle to his. "Of course you can sit vigil with me." He meowed, "I love you Shadepelt."

"I love you too." She meowed quietly.

Once every cat had gone back to their den, he went to check to see if Snowflake and Blackfoot were still sitting vigil, like every new warrior should. He saw that they were, so he went back to his post. He sat with Shadepelt looking at the sky and he noticed that there were stars that shaped a belt-like pattern among the dark sky. He guessed this was Silverpelt, the group of heavenly warriors.

He padded around to the part of Clan Rock where he addressed his clan-mates, and climbed to the top of the dimpled, soft structure.

"I, Nightstar," he said mockingly, "retire, and choose Shadepelt to be leader after me, and she shall be Shadestar!" She looked at him for a minute, but then got his humor. She padded to the top of the rock and with amusement in her eyes, spoke.

"I am pleased," she meowed, "to accept this position, now, bow down my subjects!" She pointed a paw at Nightstar and he butted her playfully on the shoulder.

"Seriously," he mrrowed, "we shouldn't be doing this. This is supposed to be a vigil!" He jumped down, and Shadepelt jumped down after. "But," he meowed in all seriousness, "I have to ask you something…"

"What?"

"While I was sleeping," Nightstar hesitated, "I was having dreams about Moonpaw, and how she fought in the battle, and I suddenly woke up, or, thought I did. I, for some unknown reason, wanted to go to Mousepelt's den and when I arrived there, a dark black figure with red glowing eyes attacked me." As he was telling this to Shadepelt, he saw her eyes get bigger and more distressed. "She was about to bite my neck," he finished, "when finally, I woke."

"I…" Shadepelt meowed, "I think that… that the cat who attacked you…" she gulped big, "…was Moonpaw." She looked at him with longing and miserable sadness in her eyes. "Tell me," she meowed, "tell me it isn't true!"

"I-I can't." he meowed

"I think that means," she said reluctantly, "that Moonpaw will grow and grow, but so will the evil inside her… She could become something we couldn't control." Nightstar looked at her.

"That makes sense," he meowed, "but the cat who attacked me, even though she was black and had red eyes, didn't look evil. There was almost something… something tender and loving about it, like she didn't want to, but she had to. Not because she wanted to, but because she had to." Shadepelt looked at him with understanding in her eyes.

"That could be…" she meowed, not totally into the idea, "let's just hope." She lay her head on Nightstar's shoulder and fell asleep.

Nightstar listened closely to the familiar beating of her heart as she slept, and watched the horizon as the sky turned from indigo, to a soft purple, to a red, pink and yellow. The stars slowly faded away, one by one, little by little, and the breeze blew the trees in a soft whispering. Somehow, somehow he knew Moonpaw would be alright, no matter what hard choices she had to make, she would be alright.

Nightstar was sending out patrols when Moonpaw padded toward him.

"Who are you gonna take to the gathering tonight?" She mewed, "Can I come?"

"O-oh," he stammered, "I-I hadn't really thought about that…" He trailed off. To be honest, he hadn't given any thought to it what so ever. "I guess I could take Leopardpaw, Tawnypaw, and you." She gave a little bounce of joy. "Also, I might take Foxheart, Foxpelt, Lionfur, Whitepelt, Mousepelt, Waterlily, Tigerstripe, Snowflake, Blackfoot, and Patchpelt."

"Sounds good!" she mewed, "I'll go and tell Blackfoot and Snowflake." At least he had gotten that figured out. A little while later, Sootwhiskers padded up with Mousekit and Shrewkit.

"Nightstar," she meowed, "I was wondering if Mousekit and Shrewkit were ready for their apprentice ceremony."

"Sure." He meowed. After all, he wasn't really doing anything. He jumped on top of the Clan Rock to address the clan. He called out the clan meeting as cats started streaming from their dens and from the entrance.

"Cats of Nightclan," he meowed confidently, "Today we are here to honor two cats. Shrewkit, Mousekit, step forward." He beckoned with his tail as they strolled forward. "You have spent six moons is the nursery and are ready to be apprenticed. Do you, Shrewkit and Mousekit, accept to becoming apprentices and being respectful to the warriors and warrior code until you, yourselves, are warriors?"

"I do." Mousekit meowed.

"I do." Shrewkit repeated.

"Then until you earn your warrior names," Nightstar finished, "you will be known as Shrewpaw and Mousepaw." The cats around them yowled their names in congratulations. "Now for mentors," Nightstar looked around to see who would be their new teachers. "Waterlily, you will be Mousepaw's new mentor." They stepped together and nuzzled each other. "Ravenwing, you will mentor Shrewpaw." He watched as Shrewpaw and Ravenwing nuzzled as well.

Nightstar jumped off the rock to assemble the cats going to the gathering. Once all together, he padded out the entrance, ready to face whatever he had to from WindClan.

Nightstar lead his clan through the thicket and into WindClan territory. He knew that the clan would still be hostile about the battle that had happened not long before. Cautiously, Nightstar stepped into the open and bolted for the log that lead the way to the island where the gathering was held. He stopped, sniffed, and kept going. In no time, they were at the gathering place and he safely made his way across the log. He watched as each of his clan members made their way across the lake.

Nightstar noticed that only ShadowClan and ThunderClan were there. He jumped up on the nearest tree branch beside Bramblestar, ThunderClan's leader.

"Where are the other two clans?" Nightstar asked Bramblestar. "Shouldn't they be here by now?"

"Well," Bramblestar meowed, "I see WindClan, but no RiverClan. Perhaps they are just running a bit late."

Nightstar watched, cringing, as his clanmates bristled at WindClan, and WindClan bristled back. He noticed that he smelled RiverClan in the air, and sure enough, RiverClan was making their way across the log. Nightstar watched as RiverClan's leader, Mistystar, looked in confusion as the WindClan cats were being so hostile against the NightClan cats. He noticed that when Harestar, WindClan's leader, jumped up on the tree, she jumped on the branch across from Nightstar, the branch that Rowenstar was sitting on. Mistystar jumped up and let out a loud yowling to gather the attention of all the cats below.

"Who would like to start us out?" Mistystar meowed, looking at Rowenstar.

"I will." Harestar said, with a hint of accusation in her voice. Nightstar gulped. He was so nervous about tonight and he had no idea what he was in for. "WindClan has been well. We have two new kits from our new queen, Dustyleaf. She is not here, for she must care for her kits, but her kits' names are Specklekit and Oakkit." Nightstar looked down to see a brown and white spotted tom puffing his chest proudly. That must be Dustyleaf's mate. Nightstar thought. "We have also been running a bit behind in medicine." She looked at Nightstar with challenge in her eyes. He flinched. "That could be due to all of the injuries we've had during our little tussle with NightClan." The other leaders gasped and stared at Nightstar.

"If I may," Nightstar interrupted, "that tussle was only because one of your clan cats stole prey from NightClan and we forced him to give it back." The leaders gasped again and looked at Harestar.

"Ridiculous!" she meowed. "Our cats are well mannered and very generous, not rude, selfish, and they don't make a nuisance of themselves!" She stared so accusingly at Nightstar, he thought she would burn a hole right inside him.

"As I recall," Nightstar said with complete dignity, "your clan was the one that started it and were the ones that lost. It is completely your fault."

"Please!" Rowenstar yowled, "Get on with it, will you?"

"Fine," Harestar meowed, "all is well in WindClan and prey is very plentiful." Nightstar noticed that when as soon as she finished, one of the WindClan warriors stood up and yowled.

"I have a question," a tabby tom said with anger, "how did the little black cat hypnotize my brother, and why did her eyes turn deep crimson?!" Nightstar gaped at this. He was so shocked, and apparently so were the other cats. Everything was quiet, and every cat turned to stare at Nightstar.

"Anything to say, Nightstar?" meowed Bramblestar. He was fixing Nightstar with a hard stare, and Nightstar knew he had to tell the truth.

"This is going to be hard to take in." Nightstar began. "My daughter, Moonpaw, has a special power. We believe that StarClan gave it to her as a gift, but it also comes as a curse." He gulped and looked at Moonpaw, crouching below. "She has the power, when she is angry, to make other cats do as she wishes. Her eyes also turn a dark red color as a sign of this power as her eyes are, usually, icy blue." Every cat was silent. Nobody knew what to think of this. _What if my daughter gets thrown out of the clans_? Nightstar thought, _What if she has to live as an outcast?_ He glanced at Bramblestar, who seemed to be staring off in the distance. There was almost understanding in his eyes.

"I understand, from Moonpaw's point of view, how this might be hard." Bramblestar meowed, "Because I was the son of Tigerstar, cats viewed me differently, evil almost. They thought that I would be just as terrifying as my father, and for that, they ostracized me. If it is a gift from StarClan, and you are trying to control it, then it's fine." Bramblestar was looking very sympathetically at Nightstar who was greatly relieved. "Who else would like to speak?" Bramblestar quickly meowed.

"I will." Mistystar meowed. "Riverclan is doing well, although one of our elders is sick with whitecough as it is close to Leafbare. No need to worry, we have it under control. In other news, prey is loose, but everything is fine there, and we have two new warriors, Crowfoot and Rippleclaw." The cats from RiverClan and some other cats chanted their names as the two warriors were pressed down by congratulating mews. "RiverClan is doing well." She repeated.

"ShadowClan has been dealing with a few foxes," Rowenstar meowed as soon as Mistystar was done, "but we are fine. We chased them out of our territory and we believe that the other clans will be fine as well. We have one new kit and her name is Applekit. We also have two new apprentices, Toadpaw and Patchypaw. ShadowClan is very well." Rowenstar glanced at Bramblestar.

"ThunderClan is very plentiful when it comes to prey which is rare on seasons like Leaffall." He began, "We also want to address the fact that our warrior, Graystripe, is joining the elders." Nightstar looked down to see an old warrior who was gray with darker stripes and a very long furred pelt. "We are pleased to announce that we have four new kits, Ravenkit, Frostykit, Gingerkit and Fernkit. We are, also, well." Bramblestar finished.

"NightClan isn't having trouble getting into Leafbare," Nightstar announced, "and we are helping Moonpaw with her power with some training. We also have two new apprentices, Shrewpaw and Mousepaw, and two new warriors, Snowflake and Blackfoot." He looked down to see all of the NightClan warriors congratulating them and pressing around them. "And lastly, my mate, Shadepelt, lost her mother, but she was a good cat." Every cat below hung their head as they all knew that loss is a terrible thing. "All medicine supplies are up, NightClan is doing well."

After the gathering, the cats broke into groups to exchange news about their own families. Nightstar jumped off the tree and trotted up to Moonpaw who had stumbled across the two new apprentices from ShadowClan.

"Do your eyes really turn red?" One of them asked. Nightstar figured it was Patchypaw because the little she-cat was a white cat with grey and ginger patches on her coat.

"Yes," Moonpaw replied, shyly, "but only when I'm angry."

"Cool!" The other mewed. "Can you show us?" Nightstar saw Moonpaw brighten up at this.

"Well, I have to be angry before it happens." She said, "But I'll try." Nightstar noticed that she started concentrating on something. Suddenly her eyes turned so red, he thought she was going to burst into flames, but they soon turned back again.

"Awesome!" Patchypaw mewed excitedly. "What were you thinking about?"

"Well," she said, "nothing, just something that made me a little angry." Nightstar stepped in.

"That was impressive, Moonpaw!" He meowed.

"Nightstar?" she meowed back, "What are you doing here? Were you watching me?"

"Yes." He gave a little mrrow of laughter. "I didn't know you could just summon your powers." He looked down at the other apprentices who were staring at him in amazement.

"You're Nightstar?" They mewed together.

"Yes, I am." He looked at them in amusement. "Now, we better get going. Come on Moonpaw." When they were a ways away from the other apprentices he meowed to her, "You know, I've been thinking, and I think you're ready for your warrior ceremony." She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Really?" she meowed in astonishment.

"Yes, really." He meowed, "But only if your pass your exam!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Early the next morning, Nightstar was sending out hunting patrols. The fresh-kill pile wasn't fully in stock and the meat was stringy. He picked Sootwhiskers, since her kits were now apprentices, Moonpelt, and Whiteclaw to do a hunting patrol, and Raindrop, Snowflake and Blackfoot to secure the perimeters. Suddenly, he was pushed aside.

"Sorry!" he heard Leopardpaw say, "We were just so excited! Moonpaw said that we were going to become warriors!" Nightstar looked up to see Tawnypaw, Moonpaw, and Leopardpaw looking at him with eagerness in their eyes.

"Yes," he meowed, "yes I did. I guess we could start exams now. Do all of you think you're ready?" They all nodded. "Then go get your mentors." They scurried to the warriors den to tell them the good news. But with three apprentices off duty, he thought, who will clean the elders den? Who will collect moss for their bedding? He was soon bumped into again. He turned to see Ravenwing and Lilypetal in front of him.

"Nightstar," Lilypetal meowed, "we have something to tell you. Ravenwing and I have been mates for a little while now and… well… I'm going to have kits!" Nightstar looked at them in surprise. _Great timing!_ He thought, amused.

"Wonderful!" he mewed. "Have you told Mousepelt yet?"

"Yes." Ravenwing meowed back. "She said they would be healthy kits." He was glowing with pride and Nightstar remembered the feeling when Shadepelt first had kits.

"Good." Nightstar said. "I'm so glad!" They went away talking about names for their kits. A little while later, he found Moonpaw strolling towards him.

"Are we ready?" She mewed.

"Ready." He replied. He led her to the camp entrance with Leopardpaw, Starlingflower, Tawnypaw, and Lionfur. "You know what you're supposed to do." Nightstar meowed. "Find at least four pieces of prey using the right technique, and meet us at Battle-Training Hollow." They nodded and went to start. Nightstar looked at the other mentors and they all broke up to follow their apprentices.

He found Moonpaw by Pine-Tree road hunting a bird. The bird was a sparrow and it was an easy catch. She slowly strode forward and, quick as a bunny, darted toward it and finished it off with a last killing bite. She hastily buried it and went on her way. He followed her toward the great golden oak in their territory. _What is she following?_ He thought. She was crouching and stepping as lightly as possible, and by the swiftness of her step, he figured she was going for a shrew. In fact, she was, because Nightstar spotted a little shrew scuffling around the tree looking for food. She crept up to it, stopped, then pounced, and in one quick bite she finished it off.

"Perfect!" He heard her murmur. She kicked some dirt over her kill and left. He saw that her next location was a little bit away from Battle-Training Hollow, and he figured that she was just working her way there. She pricked her ears, turned, and dropped as low as she could go. Nightstar turned to see a thrush pecking at the ground. He watched her as she quickly dashed across the turf and caught the bird with perfect agility. _Wow!_ She was doing even better than he expected. He heard a soft scuttling and looked to see a squirrel. She turned and since it was so close to her, she pounced on it and finished it off. Nightstar thought this was the perfect time to step out.

"You're doing great!" He meowed. "You caught four animals perfectly."

"You were watching me?" She meowed, exhausted. "Did I really do it perfectly?"

"Yes," he said, "and yes. Go collect your prey and meet me here to do your battle exam." She nodded and went to go collect up all of her kills. He went to the battle training area and saw Starlingflower and Leopardpaw waiting.

"I did great!" Leopardpaw mewed. "I caught two mice and a crow. I had to jump to get the crow, and the second mouse was actually an accident. When Starlingflower came out to check on me, it scared me so bad that I accidentally sat on a mouse and then turned around to finish it off!" Nightstar let out a mrrow of laughter.

"That's good." He turned to Starlingflower. "Did she use all the right techniques?"

"Yes." She meowed. "She did them almost flawlessly." Suddenly, the gorse around the training area rustled and he saw Moonpaw come back with her prey, but two more sparrows.

"I caught these on my way back," she meowed, "and I also ran into Tawnypaw. She has five pieces of prey!" Nightstar looked, shocked, at her.

"Is she coming?" He asked her.

"Yeah," she meowed, "but there was too much for her to carry so Lionfur had to help her." Nightstar nodded and he saw Lionfur and Tawnypaw come through the thick bushes with three squirrels and two sparrows.

"See what I caught?" Tawnypaw meowed proudly. "I did so great!"

"Yes you did!" Nightstar meowed cheerfully. "Now that everyone is ready, let's start battle training. Leopardpaw and Moonpaw, you both battle each other with your best moves." Leopardpaw stepped forward, as did Moonpaw. Moonpaw crouched, and looked at her opponents' paws. She looked as if she was going to throw Leopardpaw off her balance, but instead, caught her completely by surprise by going for her back and raking a sheathed claw down her side. Leopardpaw grunted and threw her off and, while Moonpaw's belly was exposed, she knocked the air out of her. Moonpaw was lying stunned, so Leopardpaw was going to go in for a bite, but Moonpaw threw her off and attacked her. She leaped, flipped, and landed on her back again. Then she jumped off and knocked Leopardpaw off her balance. She lunged for her neck, but Leopardpaw knocked her out again by kicking her in the stomach. Moonpaw flew back but still had enough strength to stand and bowl Leopardpaw back, sending her into the gorse.

"That was wonderful!" Nightstar praised them, "But Moonpaw, in that back tuck off Leopardpaw, you need to flip your head back more, and Leopardpaw, you need to be a little stronger when you kicked Moonpaw off of you, but other than that, you did perfect." He looked back at Tawnypaw. "Do you want to battle me?" He asked.

"Ok." She shrugged. She stepped forward and at once darted for his paws and threw him over. She was quick as a snake in lunging for his neck, but Nightstar threw her off. He jumped on her and raked her side with sheathed claws, but she knocked him off. When he hit the ground he lost his breath for a second and tried to get back up but it was too late. Tawnypaw had pinned him and already gotten his neck

"Wow!" Nightstar heaved. "You were amazing! You are all definitely ready for your warrior ceremony. Let's go back to camp and get the clan together."

As they all entered the camp, they dropped their prey in the fresh-kill pile. Nightstar found Shadepelt and told her the news. She was so thrilled, that when she found them, she started furiously licking them like kits. When everyone was ready, he called together the clan.

"We are here," he meowed, "to recognize three apprentices who have worked incredibly hard to earn their warrior names. Do you, Tawnypaw, Leopardpaw, and Moonpaw promise to uphold the warrior code and fight for it even at the cost of your lives?"

"I do." They all meowed.

"Do you give your word to the clan that you will serve it loyally?" He recited.

"Yes." They gave their word in unison.

"Then by the power given to me by our warrior ancestors," he meowed, "I give you your warrior names. Tawnypaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Tawnytuft. Leopardpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Leopardbeat. Lastly, Moonpaw, I have thought about your name and I decided to let you be known as Moonbound." She smiled at her name.

"Tawnytuft! Leopardbeat! Moonbound!" The clan chanted their names and pressed against them. Nightstar hopped of High Rock and went to meet his daughters. He placed his muzzle on each of their heads and told them that he was very proud.

"Now you know," he meowed, "you have to sit vigil tonight and guard the camp."

"Yes." Leopardbeat purred. "I'm just so happy we finally got our warrior names!" Nightstar nodded, and looked over to see Moonbound at the apprentice den. He padded toward her to see what she was doing.

"What's going on?" He asked. She looked at him with confusion.

"I feel so happy that I got my warrior name," she meowed, "but I just don't know what I will do now. I mean, I just feel like the journey is already over."

"Moonbound," he said sympathetically, "the journey will never be over. You will always be part of the clan and will always fight for it. Trust me you'll know what to do when the time comes." She smiled. "Hey," he meowed, "your eyes didn't even get red today at all. You're doing a lot better."

"Yeah," she replied, "I guess I am." He playfully butted her on the shoulder and she blinked affectionately at him. She breathed in deep and said, "I better go get ready for vigil." He nodded and watched her stroll gently into the sunset.

Moonbound padded to her littermates to start vigil. She didn't know if her father's pep talk had helped her or had done nothing. It made sense to her that the journey will never be over, but there was still something tugging at her. Like something she needed to embrace or get used to. _Maybe it's just the fact that I'm a warrior now_. She thought. She dismissed the thought and joined her sisters.

"Are you ready?" Tawnytuft meowed. Moonbound nodded and padded to the entrance of camp.

"So, do we just sit here quietly?" Leopardbeat meowed.

"I think so." Moonbound said. "It's how the other new warriors do it. Although, it seems kind of boring, I'm sure we could think of something to do."

"No." Tawnytuft shook her head. "We have to do it right." They nodded. "The moon isn't up yet, we could grab something to eat." Tawnytuft jerked her head towards the fresh-kill pile. Moonbound picked up a shrew and picked a spot under the sycamore tree over the apprentice den.

"What are you doing?" Leopardbeat asked her. "We're warriors now, so we eat by the warriors den." Moonbound nodded and hopped up to eat by the warrior den. "I wonder where our beds will be." Leopardbeat meowed between mouthfuls.

"They will be at the back of the den." Stormheart was approaching them. "New warriors sleep at the back of the den. I've already had Shrewpaw and Mousepaw get you bedding." Tawnytuft nodded and thanked him. They finished their meal in silence as the sun was gone and the moon was rising. Moonbound padded to her post and sat, facing the entrance of the camp. _It's going to be a long night._ She thought.

It was about midnight and Moonbound was almost falling asleep. She kept lifting up her head to find focus, but found none. When she even dosed off at one point, she decided to go night-hunting and patrol the borders. She raised herself and stretched until she trembled. She turned to look at Leopardbeat and Tawnytuft still guarding their posts, and decided it would be fine if she left only for a little while.

The gorse trembled as she treaded across it. The sky was a dark indigo-black with a string of stars crossing the sky. Moonbound knew that this was the heavenly warriors of StarClan, living in Silverpelt. The sky was so beautiful, that she stood gazing for a second. Suddenly, she heard a rustling in the bushes, she turned and dropped into a hunters' crouch. She slithered across the forest floor and made her way to the sound. As soon as she was as close as possible, she sniffed. _What?_ She thought. _But that's… that's not a prey scent. Could it be? WindClan!_ She jerked her head up, staying as quiet as possible and she heard them uttering something.

"Good job Weaselpaw!" One said. "Maybe you're ready for your warrior ceremony!" They laughed, quietly, but mockingly.

"I mean," said another, "all you had to do, was ask the little ShadowClan apprentice what they were talking about as they were walking away, and you find out they're becoming warriors! I cannot believe Nightstar allowed that devil to become a warrior! She's obviously evil!" Moonstar stared out, bewildered, but she had to go and tell her clan mates. She raced as silently and as quietly as she could. How dare they have the audacity to come back after their last defeat? She was basically flying across the forest floor, and in no time was at the camp.

"Tawnytuft!" she meowed, exhausted. "Leopardbeat! WindClan warriors! They're coming!" They looked at her in utter disbelief.

"What are you talking about?" Leopardbeat asked. " _Shh_! We're supposed to be quiet."

"No!" Moonbound replied. "I went out for a night stroll, and found a bunch of WindClan warriors plotting to kill me! They said I was evil, and I know for a fact they want me dead!" They both stared in astonishment at her.

"Are you serious?" Tawnytuft meowed.

"Yes!" She meowed. "We need to wake up the clan. Go!" They both scurried to the warrior den, and Moonbound left for the leader's den. "Nightstar, Nightstar wake up!" She frantically prodded him with her paw. "WindClan warriors are on the attack!"

"What?" He meowed groggily. "What are you talking about?" She sighed.

"WindClan warriors are coming, and they want me dead." She meowed. "I heard them."

"Get up the clan!" He jumped up. "Are you sure?"

"Do I look like I'm joking!?" She screeched. She flew to the other dens, woke up all the apprentices, the queens, and the warriors. "Get up! WindClan is coming!"

Suddenly, Harestar burst through the gorse. Her expression was utter evil that was soon crossed with anger as she realized that all the warriors were awake. Soon, a grim smile was wiped on her face.

"So," she meowed, "you found out about us? Good job, Moonpaw. Or, wait, are you a warrior now? Oh, what an accomplishment! You know, a little bird told me your little ceremony was due." Moonbound growled as her eyes turned bright red.

"It's Moon _bound_!" She launched herself at Harestar, who crushed under her pressure. The breath was knocked out of her as she was struck in the chest. Moonbound furiously ripped at Harestar's fur, but Harestar fought back and scratched her side. Moonbound let out a caterwaul and flipped over, exposing Harestar's soft underbelly. She scraped her back claws on her belly and the bit down on her neck. Suddenly, Harestar fell limp. _I… I killed her! Oh no..._ Moonbound quickly let go, and watched as blood welled out of her wound.

She felt a sensation go through her body as if this wouldn't be the first time that she would kill. Harestar shook, and stood back up. She took one look at Moonbound and backed away. Moonbound looked around to see battles raging around her, and suddenly, the breath was knocked out of her. She looked to see who her attacker was, and was surprised to see it was an apprentice! _You should be easy!_ She chuckled at the thought of ripping open his fur.

"I will avenge my leader!" He yowled. He twisted and locked his teeth on Moonbound's hind leg.

"You're going to have to try harder!" She yowled back. She stumbled back and pretended to be hurt. The apprentice stood there in shock, then pounced on her.

"To think!" he meowed, "You were defeated by an apprentice!" She cackled and looked up, her eyes red.

The apprentice fell back in surprise when Moonbound attacked. She ripped at his neck, and scraped up his back. He ran away, tail behind his legs as Moonbound licked her lips. She whipped around and noticed that Shrewpaw and Mousepaw were fighting a warrior twice as big as them and were losing.

"Leave them alone!" She yowled, her eyes still red. Moonbound pounced on the warrior and bit down on his tail until it crunched. For a split second while she was holding him down, she whispered in his ear, "I'm more of a warrior than you'll ever be, so run." He scrambled to his paws and scurried away. She snapped back to saneness and looked at the apprentices, suddenly concerned. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Shrewpaw meowed, "we're fine, but are you?" She guessed they were referencing her eyes.

"Yes," she meowed, almost annoyed, "it's very normal. Now go fight like warriors!" They both nodded and ran off. She suddenly heard a loud caterwaul from the back of the scene.

"WindClan," said the voice, "retreat!" All of the WindClan warriors dashed from the NightClan camp and scurried off. All of the NightClan warriors collapsed and Mousepelt dashed out with medicine for the wounds. Moonbound went over to help her.

"Need help?" She asked her.

"Well," she meowed, "maybe. Do me a favor and put this Goldenrod on your wounds and cover it with this cobweb. Also, add this Dock to your scratches." Moonbound nodded and went to look for her sisters. She spotted them limping to the warrior den. Leopardbeat had a nasty scratch on her left hind leg, and Tawnytuft had a wound on her neck and on her side. Moonbound trotted over to them and sat down. She silently applied the Goldenrod and Dock, and quickly covered it with cobwebs.

"So," Tawnytuft meowed, "what happened with you and Harestar?" Moonbound looked up. She didn't expect her to ask about it. After all, she was familiar with Moonbound's abilities.

"Well," she tried to explain it the best she could, "sometimes, when somebody gets too picky on me, I just lose it. I get so worked up that all the anger inside me boils to a steam and I crack. Also, I just really wanted to shut Harestar up. She has so business sitting there and making fun of my name. I tell you, when I'm leader, no one is going to cross me." Leopardbeat stopped putting the chervil on her wounds.

"What do you mean," she meowed, "when you're leader? Is Nightstar not good enough?"

"No!" Moonbound meowed in surprise. "I just meant that I will have gained enough recognition so that mouse-brained leaders like Harestar will respect my space." Leopardbeat seemed satisfied with this answer and went back to her chervil. Tawnytuft got up and went to go help out Mousepelt with the rest of the warriors. Moonbound stood and went to look for Nightstar.

She was trotting along when she heard quiet growls from behind the nursery. She turned to look at where the noise was coming from, and found Stormheart and a WindClan warrior! _What is he doing here?_ She thought. She saw the WindClan warrior was somewhat bigger than Stormheart. He was very lean and muscular with huge black and white paws, and was pinning Stormheart down. She was about to jump in when the warrior struck his chest and whispered something in his ear.

"Say goodbye to your clan!" he meowed. Moonbound was so furious. She leaped into the scene and fought back the warrior.

"How dare you!" She yowled. "Get away and never come back!" She could tell by the heat of her body that her eyes were glowing crimson. The warrior scrambled away in fear and dashed out into the forest. She turned immediately to Stormheart and put her head to his chest. "Oh no…" she choked. He was dying, she could tell. "Mousepelt, I need you!" she meowed.

"What is it?" she meowed, and suddenly stopped in her tracks. "What happened?"

"A WindClan warrior stayed behind." She meowed frantically. "He was a murderer! He snuck up behind Stormheart and pinned him down… he didn't know what to do and was struck in the chest! I got angry and sent him away, but Stormheart… I think he's dead." Mousepelt gasped. She quickly went over to examine him and found the truth.

"Yes, he is." She meowed. "He is dead. He was a great deputy, and he is now in StarClan." Moonbound bowed her head in sorrow. She went to look for Nightstar and saw him bounding toward the commotion.

"What happened?" He meowed. "Oh… He's dead isn't he?" Mousepelt nodded and bowed her head as Moonbound had done. "Moonbound, you fought him off?" He inquired.

"Yes." She meowed. "I heard him behind the nursery." Nightstar fixed his eyes on Stormheart's dead body. "We should have the ceremony now." Moonbound meowed. "I'll get the raspberry and the rosemary leaves." Nightstar nodded. He went to go alert the clan of what was going to happen.

"Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a clan meeting." Nightstar meowed after Moonbound had come back from getting the leaves ready for Stormheart's body. "We are all here to honor Stormheart who died fighting for his clan. He was a wonderful deputy and deserves to be remembered." He paused. "Family members of Stormheart, step forward." He watched as Patchpelt shakily padded to Stormheart's body. Patchpelt was Stormheart's father and Nightstar knew that he was always proud of him. Sootwhiskers stepped forward as well, for her and Stormheart were littermates. "You will sit vigil tonight and guard his body." Nightstar meowed. "Thank StarClan for this amazing cat. To serve in his place, I have chosen Tuftytail, and I know that he will serve our clan loyally." Tuftytail looked up in surprise and bowed his head in respect. "Every cat is dismissed." Nightstar noticed how sad and bewildered Blackfoot was, after all, he was Stormheart's apprentice.

He picked up a squirrel on the way to his den and treaded across the camp area. He was so tired from fighting that he thought his legs and tail would fall off his body. He knew that Moonbound had the power to command other cats what to do, but he didn't think that she would be such a fierce fighter. He thought this power would make her become somewhat of a coward, but she proved to be a loyal member of the clan. _Just think,_ he thought, _if she were deputy! She'd make a wonderful leader someday…_ Suddenly, Nightstar had an idea. I could give Moonbound the next apprentice! That would qualify her for being a deputy! Nightstar felt good about this decision and thought about it as he was finishing his squirrel. Once he was done, he pushed the remains away and drowsily closed his eyes.

It had been two moons since the last fight with WindClan and Nightstar was confident that NightClan had seen the last of them. Harestar had mentioned it at the gathering, but she didn't go into details, and Nightstar was grateful for that. The first snow that NightClan had experienced had been only a few weeks ago and there was still a cold blanket of the frosty crystals. As he was sending out patrols, he heard a cat approaching. He turned to see Mousepelt bounding toward him with a happy look on her face.

"Nightstar," she meowed, "Lilypetal has successfully kitted!" Nightstar felt a smile cross his face.

"That's wonderful!" He meowed back. "Just in time too. Shrewpaw and Mousepaw have their finals coming up tomorrow and we'll need some new apprentices." Mousepelt was glowing with cheer. "What are their names?" Nightstar asked her.

"The first born is a tom," she replied, "he is black with two white paws and a ginger tail with a white tip at the top. They decided to call him Tipkit, while the second is also a tom and he is white with one black paw and ginger ears. They called him Applekit, and the third is a little she-cat. She's grey with black paws, has a black tail, and a white muzzle, and her name is Ashykit." Nightstar looked pleased.

"Tipkit and Applekit will be one in the same!" Nightstar mewed. "I hope little Ashykit doesn't get to lonely. That also reminds me about Lilykit and Gingerkit, how old are they?"

"Well," she meowed, "I think they're a little older than six moons. I'm surprised that Spottedfur hasn't said anything about their apprenticing." Nightstar nodded. He decided he would call every cat to the Clan Rock immediately to apprentice them. He already knew who would be Lilykit's mentor, but he didn't know who would be Gingerkit's. He felt he should choose Cindertuft, for he was Gingerkit's father.

"Every cat who is old enough to catch their own prey, and the two kits, gather here for a clan meeting." He winked at Spottedfur who was looking at him in confusion. She suddenly understood and ushered her kits to the base of the rock. "We are here to acknowledge Gingerkit and Lilykit as apprentices of NightClan." He heard Lilykit let out a squeak of excitement. "They are now six moons old and are ready to start training to become respectable warriors of this clan. Do you, Gingerkit and Lilykit, promise to uphold the warrior code even at the cost of your life?" He meowed.

"I do." Gingerkit meowed.

"I do." Lilykit repeated.

"Then by the power of our warrior ancestors, until you earn your warrior names, you will be known as Gingerpaw and Lilypaw." Nightstar looked and saw that Gingerpaw had puffed out his chest, while Lilypaw was simply glowing with pride. "Now for mentors, I have chosen Cindertuft for Gingerpaw, and Moonbound for Lilykit." Moonbound looked up in such surprise that she almost burst. Cindertuft bowed his head and padded toward to touch his muzzle to Gingerpaw's. Moonbound stumbled forward and awkwardly touched her muzzle to Lilykit's. Gingerpaw and Lilykit bounded back over to Nightstar to respectfully lick his shoulder. "You may start training whenever you like." Nightstar finished.

"Wow," Moonbound meowed, "being a mentor? This is such an honor Nightstar." Nightstar nodded.

"It is." He purred. "I know you'll do just fine. Besides, this will qualify you for someday being deputy."

"You think," Moonbound's eyes lit up, "that I could be deputy?" Nightstar nodded again. Moonbound was so pleased that she looked as if she would start sobbing. "Thank you." She meowed.

Nightstar watched as she padded to the entrance with her apprentice waiting eagerly. He was so proud of her, and knew that if someday she became a deputy, she would do it right. Nightstar bounded to the nursery to go sit with Lilypetal, whose kits were clean and healthy.

Moonbound decided that she would go do a perimeter search with Lilypaw. She was so excited to finally have an apprentice! When she heard Nightstar speak her name at the ceremony, she thought it was too good to be true. She listened to the trees rustling in the breeze and felt the sun's heat penetrating her dark pelt. As she was treading along, she wondered if there was a quicker way to the process of becoming a deputy. I guess Tuftytail would have to die for me to become deputy. She thought, but suddenly and idea struck her. _I wonder if I could… No! Don't be crazy! I couldn't… or could I?_ Lilypaw broke into her thoughts.

"Is this far enough?" She meowed. "I want to get started with battle training." Moonbound shook her head. "So, it's not far enough?" She meowed again.

"No," she said flicking her tail. "I was thinking about something, but yeah, it's far enough." Lilypaw purred. "Let's go to Battle-Training Hollow and get started on some defense moves." Moonbound meowed happily. Lilypaw quickly skipped ahead and made her way to the sandy clearing where the apprentices learned all the fighting techniques.

Soon enough they were there. Without warning, Moonbound was knocked over and pinned by the apprentice. Lilypaw quickly struck at her belly with sheathed claws and bit down on her scruff. Using the technique her father taught her, Moonbound flipped over and landed on Lilypaw's back crushing her. Lilypaw writhed and thrashed under Moonbound's weight, but Moonbound held her ground. Picking the right timing, she nimbly darted out of the way, only to dash back over to the apprentice who was still finding her balance. Lilypaw was pinned, and even though it was a play fight, Moonbound found herself feeling accomplished.

"Good job, Lilypaw!" Moonbound cheered. "I didn't even expect it, and your technique was amazing." Lilypaw glowed at Moonbound's praise. "The only thing, is when I darted away from you, you have to get up quicker no matter how dizzy you are. Be relentless, be merciless, and don't give your enemy any chance to get away." Lilypaw nodded and Moonbound could tell that she was a bit shocked at her bluntness, but understood.

Ready for another surprise attack, Moonbound leaped on top of Lilypaw. Lilypaw shot out of the way before Moonbound could reach her, and Moonbound stumbled and fell to the ground, the breath knocked out of her. Lilypaw took this as an opportunity to aim a couple blows at Moonbound's muzzle. After that she pounced. Moonbound looked up at Lilypaw. _I'm so glad I got you as an apprentice!_ The look on her face seemed to read. She playfully batted back at Lilypaw and then slid out from under her grasp.

"With a little practice," Moonbound mewed, "and a lot of hard work, you'll be ready to perfect your skill." Lilypaw looked up happily. "Come on, let's go back to camp." Moonbound twitched her ears in the direction to go and Lilypaw followed.

On the way back, Moonbound saw a squirrel, nice and fat. She stopped and Lilypaw stopped with her. Lilypaw looked at Moonbound with something like pleading in her eyes. Moonbound nodded towards the squirrel and Lilypaw dropped down. Even though Moonbound hadn't taught her the correct hunters crouch, she still held her form quite well. She quickly skidded silently across the snow covered turf. Once she was close enough, she pounced and for a second, Moonbound thought that the creature would get away, but before it could, Lilypaw finished it off with a quick killing bite.

"That's one way to do it," Moonbound purred, "but work on your technique. With a squirrel, you should be slower with bigger steps. Other than that, you did wonderful for a first-time hunter!" Lilypaw gave a little bounce of joy and they headed back to camp.

Nightstar decided he should go on a patrol around the WindClan border with Mousepaw, Shrewpaw and their mentors. His mind rested on the thought that Moonbound would be a bad mentor because of her abilities, but nevertheless, he placed his confidence in her. When he rounded up the apprentices and their teachers, he told them that this would qualify as a warrior exam and if they hunted well on the way, they would have their warrior ceremony as soon as they came back.

Nightstar led his party of cats out of the opening in the gorse and thistles that surround part of the camp. Once they crossed Pine Tree Road, they made their way to the Golden Oak and past the ThunderClan border. Nightstar could taste the air of leafbare as he paws got colder in the crystalized grass, and he hoped and prayed that it wouldn't snow. He flicked his tail toward the WindClan border and his patrol lined the territory that had been so hostile toward them before.

"What do you smell, Shrewpaw?" Ravenwing asked. Shrewpaw lifted his muzzle to the sky and sniffed.

"WindClan, recent though." Shrewpaw meowed. "It smells like they've been hunting for… rabbit!" Ravenwing cheerfully congratulated him.

"Perfect!" he mewed. "Now, they've been around this area but they haven't crossed the border, so what does that mean, Mousepaw?" Mousepaw looked up, and then looked at Waterlily, her mentor. Waterlily nodded her head as to prompt her to answer to Ravenwing's sudden question.

"We go and look somewhere else?" She meowed. "Because if they're just hunting here that means that it's safe to go somewhere else." Waterlily nodded again and congratulated Mousepaw for her good answer.

Nightstar led the patrol to the other side of the WindClan border. He sniffed, but did not find any suspicious scents. Nightstar knew that even WindClan wouldn't be so mouse-brained as to fight again after Harestar had lost a life in the last battle, but he still wanted to be sure about that. Once everything had been checked, Nightstar headed back toward camp and got the rest of the cats to join him below the Clan Rock for a meeting. He was about to announce the warrior ceremony for Mousepaw and Shrewpaw. All day, he had been thoroughly impressed by the work that these to apprentices had done and was confident they would serve NightClan well.

"Tonight," he meowed, "we are here to honor two apprentices who have made the cut to become full-fledged warriors of NightClan. They have worked hard and deserve this opportunity. Do you, Mousepaw and Shrewpaw, promise to uphold the warrior code to protect and defend it even at the cost of your life?" Shrewpaw and Mousepaw nodded.

"I do." Mousepaw meowed.

"I do." Shrewpaw said with solidarity.

"Then, with the power I have been granted by my warrior ancestors," Nightstar finished, "I pronounce you warriors of NightClan. Mousepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Mouseleaf, and Shrewpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Shrewnose." The NightClan warriors below chanted their new names, and Nightstar watched as the two new warriors puffed out their chest in pride and excitement. "You are now warriors of NightClan." Nightstar gave his last word and hopped off the Clan Rock and let Shrewnose and Mouseleaf respectfully lick his shoulder. After the ceremony was over, he went to get something to eat, and then went to his den to lie down.

All night, Moonbound was haunted with dreams of her killing Tuftytail. It was the same dream, but repeated all night. She was just coming out of Mousepelt's den and saw Tuftytail coming toward her. She could tell by the look of him that he was sick, but this didn't shake her. Moonbound pounced and killed him, but the feeling within her as she did it was horrible. She didn't want to, but it was like she had to, something inside her was forcing her to, and finally, she decided to just go to Mousepelt about it.

She padded into the medicine cat's den and prodded her side to wake her. Mousepelt stirred and looked up, groggily. Moonbound looked into her eyes to see if she was fully awake, but she wasn't. Moonbound prodded her harder to get her up, for her reason was urgent.

"Yes, yes," she meowed, frusterated, "I'm up. What is it, Moonbound?"

"I… well, I had a dream." Moonbound meowed, hesitant. "It was about me… killing Tuftytail." Mousepelt looked up immediately.

"You had a dream about you killing Tuftytail?" Mousepelt exclaimed, and Moonbound nodded. "You killed him in your dream?" Moonbound had nothing else to do but nod helplessly. It was like she was a kit being scolded by her mother and she didn't like it at all.

"Yes." She meowed, weakly. "I don't know why, but I kept having it all night." Mousepelt nodded wisely.

"It's StarClan. They are trying to tell you something." Mousepelt meowed. "I don't know where a message would be in that kind of dream though." Moonbound understood and Mousepelt dismissed her with a promising word: Whatever it was, it was meant to be.

As she was leaving Mousepelt's den, she saw Tuftytail. She was about to alert him not to go in there because Mousepelt had said she needed sleep, but she stopped. He looked so sick, and suddenly she felt her eyes turn red and all of her sense was thrown out of her body. Moonbound was being forced against her will by her power, and she lunged forward. Before he could yowl, Moonbound clenched her teeth down on Tuftytail's windpipe as if he were prey. She had murdered the deputy. _What have I done?!_ She thought agonizingly, but as soon as she thought that, she felt a knew sensation run through her body. _My dream, it came true! Oh StarClan, why did you let me kill this innocent cat?!_ She fell to the ground and sobbed. Mousepelt came out of her den and stopped dead in her tracks.

"What…?" Mousepelt meowed, confused. "Oh no… Moonbound, you didn't… your dream, it was your dream!" Moonbound sobbed even louder and Mousepelt suddenly felt sympathy. "Don't worry Moonbound. It's ok, I know this looks difficult, but somehow StarClan intended this. This was meant to be, don't worry." She put her paw on Moonbound's shoulder as she continued to weep. "Don't tell anyone about this, Moonbound. StarClan wouldn't want you to be named as a murderer, so keep it to yourself."

"Keep it to myself?" Moonbound looked up. "How will I do that? What will Nightstar think? I can't lie to him. I can't lie to anyone, so how will I keep it to myself?" Mousepelt sat and thought for a moment.

"Maybe you can tell Nightstar, but nobody else." Mousepelt meowed. "Nightstar will tell the clan it was meant to be by StarClan, he won't go into details. Tell him in the morning, and he will have a deputy chosen soon after. Don't worry." She soothed Moonbound and Moonbound padded back to her den. As she lied down, she thought about the next deputy and who it would be. She knew Nightstar would have to pick fast, for he only had four lives left. She and Mousepelt were the only ones who knew that, the rest of the clan thought he had five. Soon it dawned on her who the next deputy would be. _Me… the next deputy is me! Oh StarClan, this is why you let me kill him. He wasn't meant to be deputy… I was!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Ooh! You guys are going to LOVE where I take this story. Sorry it took me SOO long to upload this. Again, I was ralls LAZAY.**

Chapter 6

Moonbound woke up early and she knew what she had to do. She headed straight towards Nightstar's den and saw Shadepelt there already. They were talking and Moonbound wanted to listen in on the conversation, but what she was about to tell him was too important.

"Nightstar, I need to tell you something." She meowed. Shadepelt stopped and looked at Moonbound expectantly. Moonbound hesitated, and then finally said, "Tuftytail is missing. He… he's dead."Nightstar looked so surprised, he was stunned.

"He's dead?" He meowed. "How is he dead? Did you see him die?" Moonbound shook her head. She was so nervous, but suddenly she just poured it all out. As she was telling him this, she was sobbing and he was nodding surprised. "Moonbound, you killed him?" He meowed after she was finished, and she nodded. "But it was a StarClan given message. Moonbound, I had the same dream a long time ago, when you were very young. I thought that the cat being killed was me, but it wasn't, it was Tuftytail." Moonbound nodded, so glad he understood, but she was stilled worried.

"What will we tell the clan?" She meowed.

"Well," he answered, "we could tell them it happened by the will of StarClan, but I don't know if they would be satisfied. Hopefully they will be fine, but we'll have to have his death ceremony. Do you know where his body is?" Moonbound nodded.

"Mousepelt and I buried it last night." She meowed. "Let's go and alert the clan." Nightstar nodded and they left the den to start the ceremony.

A few hours later, Moonbound had already had something to eat and finished Tuftytail's ceremony. Nightstar had told her that he would have to choose a deputy, but Moonbound told him that's why Tuftytail had to die. He wasn't meant to be deputy, she was. She saw him approach her and she stood up.

"Are you ready to become deputy?" Nightstar meowed. Moonbound nodded and they both headed to Clan Rock. "All cats that are old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Clan Rock for a meeting." Nightstar's voice rang out through the clan as cats were streaming from their dens to sit below the rock where they would hear the news. "I am here to announce the new deputy for NightClan." He meowed as the clan settled themselves. "It seems there has been a mishap with the last deputy, and I feel that StarClan has given me a message on who the new deputy should be." Moonbound braced herself for when he should call her name. "Moonbound," he said softly, "you are the new deputy." Moonbound stepped forward as he licked her head, just like when she was first an apprentice.

"I will serve the clan loyally," she meowed with dignity, "honestly, and helpfully. I promise to be a deputy to the end, and I won't disappoint." Nightstar nodded his head.

"Everyone is dismissed." He finished. "So, how does it feel to be deputy?" He asked Moonbound after every cat had dispersed. She shrugged.

"I don't know," she meowed, "new, I guess. I just hope that if I was meant to be leader, StarClan will let me live to that potential." Nightstar nodded and he padded off to send off a few other patrols. Moonbound decided she should take Lilypaw out to hunt, after all, she needed some work on her technique. "Lilypaw!" she called. "Let's go hunt. I want to help you with your squirrel catching skills."Lilypaw gave a little bounce of joy.

Nightstar had sent out two border patrols and one hunting patrol but thought he should explore the territory on his own. He knew that it might be dangerous by himself, but he felt he needed to let off some steam. He felt the crisp, snowy air as the soft crystals started falling from the sky and his ears began to get a little cold. He didn't think this leafbare would be very hard, but the smell in the air suggested a small blizzard. Nightstar traveled up the ravine to the WindClan border, and smelled to see if the patrol was already here. The scents he was picking up indicated no such thing, so he kept going. Soon he smelled a strange smell, something like rogue, but he didn't think that a rogue would be in those parts. He sniffed again, but suddenly, the air was knocked out of him.

He looked to see who his attacker was, but when he saw the strange cat, he didn't recognize him. It wasn't even a WindClan warrior! The attacker struck a swift blow at his chest, and Nightstar was helpless, only to lay there on his back, exposing his soft underbelly. The strange cat bit down on his neck and then ran away, but Nightstar was left there, blood welling out of his wounds. Suddenly he felt himself fall away, like he was dying, but soon he saw a bright light. He knew that he was losing a life, due to his other experiences, and looked up to see Bluestar, a ThunderClan leader.

"Nightstar," Bluestar meowed majestically, "you are losing one of your lives. You only have three left, use them wisely." Nightstar looked up in confusion, but like every other one of his lives, he couldn't speak. "But behold," Bluestar ominously told him, "your lives will be taken from you, for a sickness will sweep through you, and then you will die. Soon after, you will have a fight with another rogue RiverClan warrior. After that, the worst of all fates…" Nightstar looked expectantly at her, but no words came. "At last, you are waking up." Bluestar meowed. "Go to your daughter, tell her you love her. For it may be the last time you do." Nightstar's vision suddenly blurred, and he was awake once again, but in Mousepelt's den.

Mousepelt was shuffling around in the back of the small area, looking for some sort of herb. He tried to move, but cringed with pain. Nightstar looked down at his back and noticed long, deep scratches that lined his fur. He remembered what Bluestar had told him: Soon after, you will have to fight with _another_ rogue RiverClan warrior. _Does that mean that the rogue who killed me was a RiverClan warrior?_ He thought. Nightstar put his head back as Mousepelt placed cobwebs and Dock leaves on his wounds.

"When did you bring me here?" Nightstar grunted. Mousepelt looked up at him with sympathy in her eyes.

"Moonbound said you needed help." Mousepelt quietly meowed. "I don't know how she knew it, but she did. She also said something about her senses growing, but I didn't know what she meant." Nightstar narrowed his eyes in confusion. "She is very gifted, Nightstar." Mousepelt mused. "I think StarClan has given her another gift; one that allows her to know when other cats need help." He nodded and closed his eyes to rest, but suddenly felt a sharp pang of pain. He grunted, but Mousepelt continued to apply the medicine.

After she was done, Nightstar slowly got up and padded out of her den. He saw Moonbound pacing nervously outside the enclosed area, and when she heard him come out, she looked up. Moonbound let out a sigh of relief and stepped forward to lick his shoulder. _Tell your daughter you love her, for it may be the last time…_ Bluestar's words echoed in Nightstar's mind.

"I love you, Moonbound." Nightstar meowed in full sincerity. Moonbound looked up in shock, but blinked slowly as a sign of affection. Nightstar blinked back, and padded into his den to see a small squirrel placed by his bed. He also noticed some wood in the shape of a bowl with water that had been poured into it. Nightstar nestled down into his bed and fell asleep instantly.

. . .

It had been two moons since Nightstar lost his life fighting the RiverClan rogue, he hadn't mentioned the rogue at the gatherings, but she could tell that Mistystar seemed on edge both times. Moonbound was starting to worry about her old father. He was very frail, and only had two lives left, for about a moon ago he lost one of his lives to greencough. He was the only one who died from it, but other cats did get very sick with the illness. Moonbound was sending out hunting parties because they didn't have any food in the fresh-kill pile, when she felt a shudder run through her body. The same sensation she felt when Nightstar was being killed by the RiverClan rogue. _Oh no…_ She thought. She bounded down to Mousepelt's den to tell her.

"Mousepelt," Moonbound meowed, hesitantly, "I think my father is in trouble. I felt it!" Mousepelt looked up urgently.

"Are you sure?" She meowed. Moonbound nodded and Mousepelt left immediately, but she stopped by the entrance to her den. Moonbound looked up where Mousepelt was, and then she saw it. She saw Nightstar crawling out of his den, only by his front paws.

"Nightstar!" She yowled. She bounded to him, sobbing. "Nightstar, what happened?" Moonbound sobbed even louder as she saw the frosty ground was stained with crimson.

"The RiverClan rogue…" he coughed. "He somehow got into the camp…" Moonbound crouched beside him, weeping.

"No…" She sobbed. "It's not time! You can't leave me!"

Nightstar shook his head. "He struck me too deep." He meowed. "StarClan can't save me now. I just want you to know, Moonbound… I-I love… you." Nightstar coughed out blood. "You will become a great leader of this clan. Lead it where no other clan can knock us down… be the… the best." Moonbound shook her head as she saw the light fade in his eyes. "I love you so…" before Nightstar could finish his sentence, he died. Moonbound threw back her head and let out a caterwaul.

Leopardbeat and Tawnytuft came running from the entrance of the camp and stopped beside Moonbound. Leopardbeat bent down and shoved her head into his fur, weeping. Tawnytuft sobbed just as loud as Moonbound did, and crouched down beside her. The three littermates sobbed for as long as they could, but when they were ready, they stood.

"I suppose I'm leader now." Moonbound meowed slowly. She called to Mousepelt.

"Well," Mousepelt meowed after the few hours that had passed, "if you're ready, we need to go to the Moonpool to make you leader." Moonbound hesitated.

"So soon?" she asked. "Are you sure?" Mousepelt nodded. "Well, alright." Moonbound hesitated. "Goodbye!" She called out to Tawnytuft and Leopardbeat.

. . .

When Moonbound finally arrived at the Moonpool, her paws were so icy that she could slide around on the snow. Her ears were cold too, but she didn't want to complain. Mousepelt nodded to the shining water that glistened in the light of the moon. It seemed to Moonbound that Night had come fast and she looked up to see if Nightstar was up in silverpelt with the rest of the heavenly warriors. Mousepelt prodded her side as to tell her it was time. She crouched down low and slowly put the tip of her nose into the icy water. She felt her body instantly fall limp as she was carried to StarClan.

She looked up into a light that was so bright she could barely make out the figures in front of her. Once her eyes had adjusted to the light, she saw a beautiful, but old, cat which had blue-gray fur, with eyes like sapphires. Beside her was a muscular, fiery tabby tom with bright green eyes, and a sparkling expression. There were many cats there, but the one she recognized the most was Nightstar. The black tom strolled forward with an expression of such happiness that it couldn't be describable.

"Moonbound," he said, "you are here to become the next leader of NightClan. Never before have I seen a warrior so brave and determined as you." Nightstar looked at her with genuine love in his eyes as he continued. "We will give you your lives one at a time, each from a different cat." Moonbound wanted to say something, to express the sorrow and guilt for not knowing that he was fighting to the deaths with a RiverClan rogue. All that she wanted to say was left dry in the love she felt. "I, Nightstar," He meowed, "give you your first life, strength. Use it to endure whatever comes your way as a good warrior should." He touched her head with his muzzle, and suddenly, she felt an intense feeling of security and pain come over her body. It was so strong that she almost fell over, but she held her ground. The next cat that padded forward was Stormheart.

"Moonbound," he rasped, "you are meant to be the leader of NightClan. I give you your second life, prosperity. Be a leader who prospers and understands her clan, just as your father did you." Again, she felt the strong, pungent feeling of pain run through her bones as his muzzle touched her forehead. This time was different, but almost worse as she felt the need to throw up. The third cat was a creamy, long haired cat and the black muzzle and paws almost made him unmistakable.

"Moonbound," Tuftytail said, "you are strong, independent and leader quality. With this third life, I give you bravery. Be brave and fight the battles you were meant to fight." He brushed his nose across her cheek and she felt electricity shock her entire body. All of her limbs, it seemed, were fried. Once it was over, she felt the need to say something.

"Tuftytail," she hesitated, "I'm sorry. You were a great deputy and the lust and ambition for power overtook me." Tuftytail did nothing but nod, and express his gratitude with a single blink. The blue-gray she-cat stepped forward this time.

"You are bound to greatness," she meowed, "and with this life I give you beauty. A young cat like you should know that true beauty doesn't just come from the outside, but from the inside out." She rasped her tongue across Moonbound's ear and she felt her eyes shine with the life of true beauty.

The next four cats were cats she didn't know, but their gifts were intelligence, grace, ambition, and mentoring. When it was time for the last cat to come up, she saw a cat she had never in her life seen. She was a beautiful silvery tabby with eyes like the stars.

"Do you know who I am?" Her voice was like a song. Moonbound shook her head. "I am Rain. I was your father's first mate, and I love him very much. I will give you the same gift I gave him; love." Rain touched her muzzle to Moonbound's ear and the feeling that came across her body was like no other. All the others had been painful or uncomfortable, but this was wonderful. It was like nothing she could ever describe. "You are now Moonstar." Rain announced. "You will lead your clan to victory." Moonstar stood in silence as the shapes in front of her blurred, then disappeared.

When she woke, her body was stiff with cold. The snow had built up overnight so she was covered in the wet, heavy crystals. Mousepelt was sitting outside the Moonpool to guard the area while Moonstar slept, and when Mousepelt noticed Moonstar stir, she padded over to her.

"How was it?" She asked Moonstar with expectancy. "Did you receive your nine lives?" Moonstar nodded, but said nothing. All she wanted to do was get back to camp and choose the next deputy.

. . .

Moonstar arrived at her camp tired, though she just slept, but the rock was hard and uncomfortable and she was stiff. Leopardbeat padded up to her, looking happy.

"Congratulations!" she mewed. "Though, you look really ruffled, was it hard?"

Moonstar sighed. "Yes, but I am now leader, so I guess that's the only thing that mattered." She stopped and looked at Leopardbeat, and then to Tawnytuft who had just trotted to her. Something told her it should be one of these two cats to become deputy.

"Moonbound- er, Moonstar," Tawnytuft stammered, "I must tell you something." Moonstar leaned forward. "I… well, I have taken a mate…" she trailed off and Moonstar's head started spinning, anger and happiness at the same time. _Now was not the time to take a mate, Tawnytuft!_ She thought, _But if it makes her happy…_

Moonstar looked at her sister, a longing in her eye, knowing that she couldn't ever take a mate of her own since she was leader. "Oh." She stopped. "I suppose that's good news, but I was thinking about you becoming deputy…" Tawnytuft nodded.

"I know." She meowed. "I figured me or Leopardbeat would be your first choices for deputy, but I just love Lionfur so much, I knew I had to make a choice. I chose Lionfur." Moonstar nodded and decided Leopardbeat would have to be deputy.

Leopardbeat looked up. "Does this mean I am going to be deputy?" she asked. When Moonstar nodded, she flicked her ears to show her happiness, though Moonstar could tell she was playing it cool. She could see that excitement in her eyes like a kit who had just reached six moons. "When will we perform the ceremony?" she meowed.

All Moonstar did was flick her tail. She bounded to the Clan Rock and called a clan meeting together. Cats streamed from their dens and Thorntail, Rainclaw, Snowflake, Blackfoot and Starlingflower returned through the camp entrance with two thrushes, a shrew, a mouse and a vole. They hurried to where all the others sat and huddled together for warmth, for the end of leafbare seemed to be taking its toll out on all the cats in her clan.

"We are gathered here today to acknowledge a new deputy." She nodded to Leopardbeat. "Will you serve loyally and truthfully to your clan as deputy until, StarClan forbid, I die?"

Leoparbeat nodded. "I will."

"Then I name you deputy of NightClan." She carefully stepped down the pile of rocks that sat on one side of the stone to set her muzzle on Leopardbeat's head. Moonstar felt the touch of Leopardbeat's tongue to her shoulder as a sign of respect. "Do your clan well." Leopardbeat nodded as Moonstar finished the ceremony.

The cats in the clearing dispersed and padded back to their dens or out on a border patrol Moonstar decided to join. She was tired, but she wanted to be doing something for her clan. Mousepelt was padding towards her as Moonstar was deciding to make her exit.

"Where are you going?" she demanded.

Moonstar suppressed a sigh. "On a border patrol." She meowed evenly.

"No, you're not," Mousepelt shook her head. "You have just received your nine lives, made the trek back home and now you're going on a patrol? I don't think so. You should go to your den and get some real sleep." Moonstar let out the sigh she had ben holding in and padded heavily back to the Clan Rock where her den was.

. . .

The den was dark and warm and Moonstar wanted to go back to sleep, but she wasn't tired anymore. She slipped out of her den, most of the camp was still buisy but she noticed her apprentice, Lilypaw, boredly picking at her shrew. _Mouse dung!_ Moonstar thought. She hadn't taken her apprentice out for training or hunting for about three sunrises. Lilypaw was looking a lot bigger and more muscular as if she had been training herself, but maybe she went out on her own or with Cindertuft and Gingerpaw. Guilt surged through her, making her belly flutter.

She padded over to the pretty, grey apprentice. She really took after her mother, Spottedfur, Moonstar noticed. Her paws up were white, but when it reached her sides and back, it was a darker grey flecked with white. Her father, Cindertuft, was a grey color with spots of ginger on his tail and face. Moonstar realized she had approached Lilypaw and that she was staring strangely at her.

"Yes, Moonstar?" she asked. Moonstar shook her head to clear her mind.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I was just thinking, well, you know I haven't taken you out of camp for a while." Lilypaw nodded. "Do you want to do battle training?"

"Yes!" she mewed, eagerly. Moonstar stifled a _mrrow_ of amusement as the apprentice jumped up and nearly tripped.

"Come on," Moonstar flicked her tail, "let's go."

They padded out the entrance and up the ravine that led through the territory. The air was crisp and fresh as if things were already warming up from leafbare. Moonstar had noticed that the fresh-kill pile had been more stocked lately and that her warriors were not as tired. A wistful feeling nagged at her heart as she recognized that she wasn't as young as Lilypaw and that someday she would be an elder. They energetic apprentice hopped over every bramble and bush she could while Moonstar only steered clear.

When they finally arrived at the Battle-Training Hollow, Lilypaw skidded to a halt in the center. The area was a little smaller than how Moonstar had imagined it when she was an apprentice and wondered if Lilypaw was imagining it the same way.

"So, Lilypaw," Moonstar began, "I want to teach you something the other clans call a badger attack. Now, remember," Lilypaw was nodding, "a badger is about two times the size of a cat, so you have to hop two times you size." Lilypaw stared as Moonstar demonstrated the move. She leaped up and landed on her front paws, then reversing quickly to her haunches, twisting around so quickly that she almost lost her balance, but she held up well and jumped up again, landing on all four paws this time and clamping her jaws as if she was biting a badger's leg.

"Are you kidding?" Lilypaw stood agape. "I can't do that!" Moonstar only nodded to her apprentice and Lilypaw tentatively stepped forward. She jumped up and when she landed she almost fell backwards on the ground but she twisted quickly and jumped up landing but she forgot to bite.

"Good try," Moonstar mewed, "but keep your gaze on one thing to help you with balance." Lilypaw nodded.

She jumped up again and didn't fall, only twisted swiftly; she jumped up once more, then laded on all four paws and clamped her jaws, as if remembering what she had forgot the last time she had tried the battle move. Moonstar saw that her eyes were shining with pride when she realized she had done the step near perfect.

"Now," Moonstar meowed, "come at me and use tactical surprising moves, and remember not to stare at the spot you are going to attack." Lilypaw blinked and lunged at Moonstar, trying to unbalance her by slithering underneath her, but Moonstar thought quicker and collapsed on top of Lilypaw. She felt Lilypaw's body be removed and she felt a few blows with sheathed claws on her ear and side. Moonstar fell sideways from the force of the blow and Lilypaw used that chance to bowl her over to the opposite side of the clearing.

When Moonstar had caught her breath, she stood to see Lilypaw sitting, tail curled around her side, and she was licking her paw and drawing it over her ear. Moonstar let out a _mrrow_ of laughter at how good Lilypaw had defeated her.

"You're going to make a great warrior." She mewed.

"Can we be done?"

"Ok." Moonstar replied, amused. "First, let's hunt some."

"Fine," Lilypaw sighed.

They traveled to Pine-Tree Thunderpath and a little further. Lilypaw was getting along with hunting just fine, for she had caught two mice and a vole on their way. Moonstar caught a starling and a black bird while Lilypaw watched her technique for bird hunting. Lilypaw had seemed to understand and caught a thrush afterwards. _She really will make a talented warrior._ Moonstar mused. Suddenly, a rustling was made in one of the trees.

Lilypaw stiffened. "What's that?" her words were but a whisper. Moonstar shook her head and opened her mouth to taste the air. A familiar, yet unwelcomed scent bathed her tongue. _Dog._ Or was it dog? Something about it was different, something unfamiliar along with the familiar scent. It smelled bigger, maybe stronger or a different type of dog.

Moonstar heard Lilypaw stifle a yowl of terror when the biggest dog she had ever seen padded through the trees. Moonstar wanted to pelt into the trees and let out a caterwaul of alarm, but her paws were like stones, she was frozen stiff. The dog was about two times Moonstar's size and it was black with eyes like stars. It looked as if had a hurt paw, but all Moonstar could recall about stories of dogs was that they were vicious, bloodthirsty creatures who fed on cats.

The dog opened its' mouth as if to speak. "Don't stand there dumbfounded!" it growled. Moonstar shook her head in astonishment as she understood its' words. "Well?" The dog growled once more.

"Who are you?" Moonstar cautiously took a step forward.

"A dog," it snorted, "but my name is Black Wolf, and if you're wondering how I can understand you, or rather, how _you_ can understand _me_ , I was raised with several cats in my person's nest…" Moonstar tilted her head as Black Wolf trailed off. He must have seen Moonstar's expression, for he suddenly continued explaining. "My person decided he didn't want me anymore and… well… he called the pound and was going to send me away, but before he could, I ran off." Moonstar felt an unexpected pang on sympathy for this lone wolf. Then again, the sympathy was masked with confusion.

"Person?" she echoed. "What's a person? And what's a 'pound'?"

"A person is what feral cats like _you_ ," he growled accusingly, "call 'twolegs'. A pound is… it's a place where people… er, twolegs, send their unwanted pets, and if someone doesn't come by to adopt the animal in three days time, the kill it." Moonstar gasped and her surprise was echoed by Lilypaw who gasped as well.

The three stood silent for many heartbeats, not sure what to say next. Moonstar felt so many emotions. Why did this dog come here? Did his 'person' live close by? How could a twoleg be so evil as to kill innocent cats and dogs, nomatter how annoying some of the stupid furballs could be? She was angry, but at the same time, sympathy enclosed her like a pitch darkness swallowing the last bit of her flesh.

"Why have you come here?" Lilypaw bravely spoke up.

"I have nowhere else to go." He replied flatly. "I suppose I'll be hungry, I could either do what all dogs do and eat you," - Moonstar refused to flinch - "Or I could peacefully grab a shrew and get out… unless you can offer me a place to stay." Not sure to yowl no or to accept without second thought, she let him continue to talk. "I've heard about the warrior cats that lived around the lake, but never really gave thought to it. I mean, consider this, if I joined your clan, you would be the only clan with a wolf dog as a member and you would win every battle, taken you'd let me in on all the battles…"

Moonstar thought for a moment. "I suppose I could let you in," she heard a gasp from Lilypaw, but she had the wisdom to stay quiet, "but I would have to teach you the warrior code. You must fight the way we do, and only shed blood if necessary, given the other clans don't cross borders or steal prey."

Black Wolf was silent for some time, blinking every so often to hydrate his eyes. Moonstar guessed he would agree, he had nowhere else to go and he would be well fed. After many heartbeats, he finally gave his answer.

"Fine," he muttered, "but don't expect me to make friends with every cat in your clan." Moonstar's whiskers twitched. This could either be a great decision, or a huge mistake.

The three of them trekked back to camp, weaving through the ferns and nettles while trying to avoid the brambles. Black Wolf let out a grunt every once and a while as the thorns tugged on his thick fur. Moonstar wondered if Black Wolf would be truly helpful and apply himself, but then again, he was hungry and alone and Moonstar decided that he would do anything for decent living.

When they arrived at camp, they were met with many gasps. Moonstar decided she should call together a meeting, but she wanted to eat first. She took a thrush from the fresh-kill pile and carried it to the Clan Rock to eat. She noticed Black Wolf poking suspiciously at a plump vole, but soon enough he picked up the morsel carefully between his jaws. He carried it to where Moonstar was sitting and sat down with a puff.

Several moments passed while Moonstar was eating for Black Wolf to bite into his meal. After his first taste, he ate more quickly. _He must have noticed how famished he was…_ She guessed. Once she had finished, Black Wolf was still eating, but he gulped down his last few bites of vole, as if taking notice that she was going to call together a meeting.

She bounded up the slope to the top of Clan Rock and called together the clan meeting. "Let all those old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Clan Rock for a meeting."

Shadepelt padded slowly out of the nursery while Onetail, Patchpelt, and Foxpelt padded from the elder's den. Moonstar knew that Shadepelt didn't have any kits, but she felt it was her place after Nightstar's death. She would still fight and go on patrols, but Shadepelt wanted to sleep in the nursery. Waterlily and Starlingflower came back from where they were sharing a shrew and Thorntail, Rainclaw, and Whitepelt came from the camp entrance from a patrol. Snowflake, Blackfoot, Tawnytuft, Lionfur, and Sootwhiskers came from the entrance also and Moonstar guessed that they were all on hunting patrols. The mice and starlings along with voles and a sparrow told her that hunting had been well. The rest of the warriors streamed from their dens and shifted uneasily around the Clan Rock, obviously uncomfortable about the fact that there was a wolf in their camp.

"I'm sure you're all wondering the same thing," Moonstar began, "and I have an explanation." Her warriors grew quiet as her voice rang around the clearing. "My apprentice and I were looking for places to hunt when we heard a rustling in the bushes and smelled dog, shortly after, Black Wolf appeared." Murmurs spread through the crowd below.

"Did I hear Black Wolf?"

"That's what she said, right?"

Moonstar raised her tail for silence. "He was kicked out from his twoleg's home and seems civil enough, he can even understand cats." Shocked glanced were exchanged. "He has agreed to the terms of becoming part of our clan and will train as a warrior."

Whiteclaw jumped to his paws. "I'd love to train an _apprentice!_ " he sneered. Black Wolf drew his lips back in a snarl.

"No!" she thundered. "We are not _training_ him as an apprentice. We will teach and show him what is meant to be done in battle, while he is hunting, and during border patrols." Moonstar's eyes were glowing red and he sat down. "That's what I thought." Whiteclaw only nodded angrily.

She noticed that Black Wolf was staring at her inquisitively. Moonstar tilted her head, not sure why he looked so intrigued. _My eyes._ She realized. Yes, that was it. He was interested in the fact that her eyes turned red whenever she was in a fit of anger.

"Now, it's starting to get late," She noted as the sun was sliding down the horizon, "I want two evening patrols. Whiteclaw, you can lead the first one with Moonpelt and Rainclaw. Ravenwing, you are going to be with Tigerstripe and Leopardbeat," the dark grey flecked she-cat lifted her head as her name was called, "You can lead the patrol." She nodded her head and got together with her warriors.

Black Wolf approached Moonstar as she scrambled down the Clan Rock. "What am I supposed to do?" he barked.

"Are you tired?" she mewed.

"Yes."

"Then I'll have my apprentice fetch some moss for you and she can show you how to create your own make-shift den," she paused and then added, "I have a feeling that the warriors aren't going to appreciate smelling you all night." Black wolf only nodded. "Lilypaw!" she called. Moonstar watched the grey she-cat skip along the clearing towards her. "I want you to collect some moss for Black Wolf and show him how to weave together bramble tendrils and fern fronds."

Lilypaw nervously led him across the clearing to the bramble thicket that hid the entrance to their camp. Moonstar padded wearily to her den, her paws feeling heavy as stone. All she wanted was sleep. Nightstar's stale scent drifted into her nostrils and comforted her as she slipped into her mossy nest. She thought about how well her father had led NightClan and wondered if she was doing a good job as leader. Moonstar felt her eyes close and eased her breath so that she could drift into sleep.

. . .

Moonstar opened her eyes to a dimly lit forest where the sun was covered in thick clouds. She was dreaming. She padded forward, the peaty earth sinking a little under each step. The trees looked cold and dead, but they still had leaves. Something about the place caused her spine to tingle and she could feel her fur beginning to rise; nonetheless, she kept on and padded through the brambles and bracken.

Moonstar stopped when she had scented other cats. The scent was dank and musty, nothing she had ever smelled before, but instead of fear engulfing her it was curiousity. Pushing onward, she broke into a run and slowed to a stop behind a tree. The camp where the strange cats lived was right in front of her. She swept her tail behind her and winced when she felt a twig snap loudly under her paw. She stopped dead, not daring to breathe in case any of the cats heard her. Blood roared in her ears and her heart pounded in her chest and for a moment Moonstar thought it was going to burst, but it soon slowed when she realized not one of the cats had heard.

She turned to leave when a new scent washed over her. Twoleg, but it was washed over with the scent of the damp forest, it almost smelled as if it had just rained. As it became stronger, Moonstar dove into the bushes. She prayed to StarClan that this cat, whoever it was, didn't scent her. When the cat came into view, she noticed that it was a small, lean tom that was jet-black except for one paw that was white. He had a purple, though stained with red, collar that had teeth jutting out of one side. _Cat teeth!_ Moonstar realized with dismay. Though it wasn't just cat teeth, there were dog teeth sticking out as well. The cat stopped and sniffed the air. His expression turned from suspicion to satisfaction in a heartbeat.

"You don't have to hide, my dear," the cat spoke out, "I won't bite." Moonstar felt dread envelope her but she could do nothing except follow what the tom had said.

She tentatively padded out of the bushes not daring to meet his eyes, though she could tell he was smirking.

"And to what do I owe to this visit?" he asked.

Cautiously, she looked up. "I-I arrived here in a dream, I didn't purposely come," she meowed quietly.

"Well," he replied, "whether you knew it or not, I have been expecting you to come." He flicked his tail and another tom padded out of the gorse thicket. "Bone," he meowed, "Moonstar has finally come."

She let out a small gasp of shock. "How do you know my name?" she demanded.

"Save your breath," Bone spoke, "we've been waiting for you." His whiskers twitched as a sign for her to follow him.

She padded into their camp and through the clearing. Other cats there were staring at her inquisitively, but none said anything. The black tom padded brought up the rear and, for whatever reason, she didn't mind the fact that the strange cat was behind her. She thought he would be something different from what he was and she felt safe around him. Moonstar shook her head of these thoughts. _He's a strange cat you've never met, why would you feel this way?_ Pain seared in her nose and her eyes watered as she bumped into a hard rock wall.

"Ow!" she yowled. Bone's whiskers twitched in amusement but the black tom almost looked genuinely worried.

"Are you all right?" he meowed. Moonstar nodded and realized where she was. The cave was small and somewhat like her den in the forest. _This must be the leader's den, but who is the leader?_ She thought. _Could it be Bone?_ Maybe, but she didn't want to go jumping to conclusions.

"What am I doing here?" She dared to say out loud.

"If you must know," Bone growled, "you've been brought here to train."

Moonstar didn't quite understand. "Train for what?"

"For goodness sake!" hissed the black tom. "We are going to train you to become a better leader. You cannot go about second guessing yourself and comparing yourself to your _father_." Moonstar flinched. How did they know?

"What's your name?" she asked him.

"My name is Scourge," he meowed.

Scourge? Moonstar was quite confused. Wasn't scourge a word that meant a great evil or thrashing? What reputation did this cat hold? She knew that this place had never seen the true light of day or the frosty glisten of stars. It was not StarClan. With a sickening wrench, her belly lurched when she realized where she was. _The Place of No Stars!_ She thought despairingly. How had these cats gotten there? They clearly weren't clan cats.

"Where did you come from?" Moonstar demanded.

Scourge glanced briefly at Bone. "That's not important," he flicked his tail dismissively, "we must start training now."

Bone stepped forward, but Scourge blocked the way. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I will start training her," Scourge meowed, "you go and finish patrols." Bone narrowed his eyes. "I am your leader," Scourge spoke quietly and steadily, "you will obey." Bone hesitated, but nodded curtly.

Scourge waited until he had padded out of the den and then jerked his head toward the entrance. Moonstar followed him out into the dimly lit forest. For some reason, Bone made her feel uncomfortable, but Scourge almost made her feel safe, for instance, if there were to be a problem, he would protect her.

In the forest all of the ferns had dried and stiffened into bracken and the ground beneath her paws was hard compared to the soft, grassy slopes of her home, while the trees, which usually had moss blanketing the base, were barren and cracked. The air was so thick and damp that Moonstar stifled a gasp of breath every now and then.

Scourge suddenly stopped in a large clearing that contained many entangled tree roots zig zagging their way across the ground.

"Now," he started, "I am going to try an attack move on you and you are to sit there and feel it, understanding every move I make so that you may try it out on me afterwards." Moonstar nodded.

He crouched and lunged forward, landing on Moonstar's shoulders and battering her head with his hind paws. Scourge's claws were sheathed and he wasn't kicking hard but if it were a real battle, it would be a tactful move and it would leave most of her opponents stunned.

Scourge leaped down landing face forward in front of her. "Try that move out on me and I'm going to try and throw you off."

Crouching in the same way she saw Scourge do it, she lunged and landed squarely on his backside. She kicked her sheathed paws on his head and felt him turn over, but she thought twice and leaped up, twisted around, and managed to strike a few blows to his muzzle before zipping away. Scourge flew up and pounced on her, but in a playful way. His eyes were full of amusement and some other emotion Moonstar couldn't quite read… Friendliness? Affection? Or was it… _Love?_

Soon after a couple play fights and battle tactics, the forest around her started to fade.

"Scourge?" she meowed desperately. "Am I waking up?"

"Yes," he called back, "don't forget to come back here every night for another training lesson." Moonstar nodded. "And don't tell any cat about me," he added quickly, "especially not the cats from other clans."

Before he disappeared completely, Moonstar saw his ghostly figure move toward her. Scourge pushed his muzzle into hers, leaving her with the loving touch of his breath and the strange scent of his pelt. She looked up and saw that the sky was orange streaked with pink, the sun just touching the horizon. The camp was beginning to stir and Moonstar stood up shaking scraps of moss from her pelt. _I will come back tomorrow night, Scourge, I will._


	7. Chapter 7

**Yeah, so here's the scoop:**

 **I've been taking multiple chapters at a time from my story since I am in reality on chapter 23 or something around there. That's why all of the chapters have been so long, so from now on, I will only be taking ONE chapter at a time. Don't worry, I'll still make them a decent size, but I want to string the story a bit more. :D**

Chapter 7

The forest was soft and wet under paw; new-leaf rains were coming. Moonstar noticed the building wind and dark clouds sweeping over the otherwise blue sky. She was on a hunting patrol with Shrewnose, Mouseleaf, and Foxheart. Most of the prey was out looking for food before the storm, but some of the prey was hiding away already.

Moonstar stopped when she heard a scuffling of small claws against the root of a tree. She parted her jaws to taste the air and scented a squirrel to her left. Instantly, she dropped into the hunters crouch and stepped ever so lightly with every paw, creeping closer and closer. Moonstar bunched her shoulders and leaped landing perfectly on the squirrel and ending it with swift killing bite to the neck.

Shrewnose padded up to her. "Wow Moonstar!" he congratulated her. "I've never seen such a plump squirrel before." Moonstar nodded, knowing that if she tried to speak it would only be muffled by her prey.

Mouseleaf was a couple foxlengths away carrying a thrush. It wasn't extremely plump, but it was a good size.

"Let's go hunt by Pine-Tree Road." Moonstar called.

She pounded toward the row of ever-green trees with their spikey limbs and branches. It was strange, Moonstar never thought about it, the way they were in a straight line in double columns and there was a path in between them. _Maybe some twoleg liked the way it looked, so he put the trees there._ She shrugged. It mattered little to her what a mouse-brained twoleg did or didn't do.

She sniffed the air and stiffened as she scented a crow, but she noticed that Foxheart was already on it and killed it before it could let out an alarm call. She turned to her left and saw Shrewnose pouncing on a sparrow flitting around close to the low branches of the prickly pines.

"It seems we've all gotten some prey," she meowed, "let's head back to camp before it rains and gets all our prey soggy." Shrewnose nodded and carried his sparrow along with Foxheart and his crow.

* * *

When they arrived back at camp, the rain was dropping down and Moonstar's pelt was beginning to get a little wet. As she set down her squirrel, she noticed Tawnytuft looked a little more plump than usual. She twitched her whiskers in annoyance. _I know we're getting more prey, but there's no reason to go about eating it all!_

Tawnytuft flicked her ears as she realized Moonstar had padded into camp and sprang to her paws, running clumsily toward Moonstar. She skidded to a halt in front of her, almost tripping over her front claws.

"Moonstar!" she mewed breathlessly, "I'm going to have kits!" Moonstar's jaws gaped happily, not only because it meant her sister _wasn't_ getting plump, but that she would have kit kin!

"That's wonderful!" Moonstar meowed, "Did you find out on your own, or did you consult Mousepelt about it and then find out?"

"Well," she hesitated, "I was wondering why I had been a little more clumsy lately, and Lionfur commented that I looked a bit bigger," Moonstar stifled an amused puff, "so I did ask Mousepelt, and she told me exactly what I wanted to hear!"

"Of course she did!" Moonstar licked her ear. "Now, have you thought about names?"

"Well, I like Pinekit for a tom," she started, "and since Lionfur has a more golden pelt where mine is grey, I don't doubt that we'll have at least one she-cat that looks like me." Her eyes were shining with joy. "I do like the name Rainkit." Moonstar nodded.

"Those names are precious." Before Moonstar could say anything more, she was nearly knocked off her paws by the scrabbling of Tipkit, Ashykit, and Applekit.

Flying bundles of black, ginger, grey, and white were flying all around her in an excited cloud of kits.

"What do you think you are doing?" Lilypetal scolded her kits. "I realize you are excited about some new denmates, but you won't still be kits by the time they are even born." Her kits' tails drooped, but lifted once more at the thought of becoming apprentices.

Moonstar's whiskers twitched. "How old are they?" she asked Lilypetal.

"They're only a few sunrises before their sixth moon." She let out a sigh of relief. "They can't wait, and neither can I. They're getting too big for the nursery." Tipkit, Applekit, and Ashykit scampered off toward the entrance to the nursery to play fight.

"Oh, Moonstar," Tawnytuft chipped in, "have you thought about taking any cat to the gathering tonight?" Moonstar had completely forgotten and didn't even give a second thought to it.

"No," she admitted, "but I suppose I could bring you and Shadepelt," Tawnytuft nodded eagerly, "I would also like to take Lilypaw, I've been thinking about making her and Gingerpaw warriors. I want to take Shrewnose and Mouseleaf along with Starlingflower, Waterlily, Whiteclaw, Thorntail, and Sootwhiskers."

Tawnytuft tilted her head. "What about Leopardbeat and Mousepelt?"

"They get an automatic pass since they are deputy and medicine cat." She nodded and padded away to tell her sister.

Moonstar veered the other direction towards the apprentice den. The bracken and bramble den seemed empty with only two apprentices in it. Lilypaw was sharing a squirrel with Gingerpaw. She started and looked up as she heard the fern fronds in the entrance rustle at Moonstar appearance.

"Yes?" Lilypaw swiped her tongue over her jaws.

"I would like to take you to the gathering," Moonstar hesitated, "but before I do that, I thought maybe Cindertuft and I could give you and Gingerpaw your final assessment."

Gingerpaw gaped. "You mean, like, our warrior assessment?"

"Yes, I do," Moonstar nodded.

Gingerpaw sprang to his paws, eyes shining, and darted out of the den to find Cinderheart. Lilypaw just stood in surprise.

"Moonstar," she mewed, "what if I'm not ready? What if I fail and have to wait another moon while Gingerpaw gets to go to the gathering a warrior? What if I—"

"Lilypaw," Moonstar interrupted her sad wailing, "I have full confidence that you will pass. There is plenty of prey out there and you have already mastered the badger attack, that's one of the hardest moves to do." When Lilypaw looked as if she was cheering up, Moonstar added, "I _know_ you'll pass."

Lilypaw nodded and padded out of the den where Cindertuft was waiting with Gingerpaw. _She will pass._ Moonstar thought as her apprentice raced out the entrance with Gingerpaw hard on her paws. Moonstar followed Lilypaw's trail and found her hunting by the Great Golden Oak. _Good choice!_ There were always shrews and squirrels picking at the roots for nuts as there were plenty of beech trees around.

She spotted her apprentice standing straight and still, the small breeze ruffling her pelt, tasting the air. Her ears pricked and Moonstar noticed a fat mouse scuffling around the Great Golden Oak. Lilypaw dropped into the hunters crouch, and step by step, what felt like a moon, or maybe a heartbeat, turned into a flurry of paws and nipping of flesh. The mouse was hers. Lilypaw buried her prey and bounded toward a distant beech tree.

It didn't take long for her to notice the thrush pecking at some worms; she swiftly leaped and landed with her paws squarely on each wing, trapping it and killing it with a last ending bite. She picked it up and padded over to where her mouse was and strained to fit the fat creature into her mouth. Moonstar knew she was finished; she performed the hunts flawlessly.

"Lilpaw," she softly called out, "do you need help with that?" Lilypaw looked up and nodded, not able to speak with the feathery thrush in her mouth.

Moonstar picked up the mouse and headed in the direction of Battle-Training Hollow, careful not to let the huge mouse drag across the sandy earth. They padded on until they met Cindertuft and Gingerpaw in the middle of the clearing. Gingerpaw had caught two squirrels that were both reasonable sizes.

"Alright," Moonstar dropped the fat mouse, "are we ready for our battle assessment?" Lilypaw and Gingerpaw both nodded eagerly.

"Moonstar and I will act like WindClan invaders," Cindertuft took over, "and you have to pretend like this is our camp and you are defending it." Lilypaw and Gingerpaw nodded.

Moonstar dropped down and leaped up. She cleared Lilypaw and landed on the other side, attemting to confuse her, but Lilypaw thought twice and darted towards her, sending a few blows with sheathed claws down her side and cuffed Moonstar's ears with her tail. Moonstar bit back a grunt of pain and shot up, twisting around and landing on Lilypaw's back, kicking softly back on her head. She decided to use Scourge's move from the night before to see Lilypaw's reaction. If she was truly ready for being a warrior, she'd be ready for anything, and she was. She arched her back swiftly, sending Moonstar falling backwards in enough time to pin her. Moonstar knew that she couldn't let Lilypaw beat her, so she let herself go limp and as soon Lilypaw softened her grip, Moonstar slid out from under her and fell on top of the tortoiseshell apprentice.

Lilypaw stood up panting. "That was so amazing!" Moonstar nodded, catching her breath. "I felt as though I had the power of a whole patrol, and you, you used a new move. I don't remember you teaching me that." Moonstar stared.

"I-I made it up," she stammered, "You know, when you're so in the moment you just improvise. You try it."

Slowly, Lilypaw crouched down. As soon as Moonstar thought she was going to leap up, she was caught by surprise when the apprentice darted to her side and bit down on her tail. Without breaking skin, the apprentice tugged at it and then leaped out of the way when Moonstar flipped around, attemting to unbalance her. With Lilypaw still lightly biting her tail, Moonstar lost her own balance and fell over. Lilypaw shot up and landed over Moonstar soft underbelly.

"That was fun!" she mewed. Moonstar truly was impressed by the apprentice's creativity.

"Well," Moonstar stood shaking loose sand from her pelt, "you know what's going to be more fun?" Lilypaw tilted her head. "Becoming a warrior, you're clearly ready." Lilypaw's jaw gaped and she gave a little bounce of joy.

"What about Gingerpaw?" she turned towards Cindertuft.

He nodded. "I think Gingerpaw will make a fine warrior." The two apprentices let out small yowls of excitement and raced off towards camp.

Cindertuft turned toward Moonstar, his eyes filled with pride. Moonstar couldn't keep in her own pride as the tom bounded off after his apprentice. Moonstar followed, pelting into the trees, not waiting to catch her breath as she raced betweens trees and bracken. Her fur ruffled up in the wind and her eyes stung from the blast of air, but she kept going. She had to make them warriors before it was time to go to the gathering and when they came back, they had to keep vigil until morning. The sky was already growing paler as fluffy white clouds scutted across the ever smaller sun sinking into the horizon.

She arrived at camp with a last puff of energy. She came to see that most of the cats were already gathered beneath the Clan Rock, obviously waiting for the ceremony to begin. Moonstar padded up to the ledge of rocks that led to the top of the boulder. She leaped up to the top and began the ceremony.

"I, Moonstar," she began, "call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these apprentices and to recognize the hard work and determination that has gone into their training. You have been with them in this journey and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." She looked down to see Gingerpaw and Lilypaw staring eagerly upward. "Do you, Lilypaw and Gingerpaw, accept the warrior code and promise to uphold it and protect it even at the cost of your lives?"

"I do," Lilypaw mewed.

"I do," Gingerpaw echoed.

"Then by the power of my warrior ancestors," she continued, "I give you your warrior names." Moonstar paused to leap down and stand in front of the soon to be warriors. "Lilypaw, from this day forward, you will be known as Lilyshine." She rested her muzzle on Lilyshine's head and let the warrior lick her shoulder as a sign of respect. "Gingerpaw," Moonstar turned to the ginger apprentice, "from this day forward, you will be known as Gingertail." Gingertail stepped forward and allowed Moonstar to rest her muzzle on his head and he licked her shoulder in turn. "You are now full warriors of NightClan."

"Lilyshine! Gingertail!" the clan yowled out their names in congratulations and pressed all around them.

Moonstar bounded towards the camp entrance beckoning with her tail for the cats that were going to the gathering. Something like bile rose up in Moonstar's thoat. This would be her first gathering as leader and she wanted it to go well.

Once all the cats had lined up behind her, Moonstar took off through the prickly bramble barrier, ignoring the thorns that grappled at her pelt. She pelted through the trees, enjoying the cool evening air. Soon enough, she reached the spot where ThunderClan and WindClan collided in borders, the stream as the marker. The two clans agreed to give the stream and two tail lengths past it in each territory to NightClan in order for them to reach the lake and around it to the tree bridge. Moonstar and her warriors skirted the stream on either side and soon reached the lake.

The water lapped hungrily at the shore with wave after wave. Her clan padded through WindClan territory and RiverClan as well in order to reach the tree bridge. She had to admit, the lake seemed much bigger and scarier without her father to guide her over. _Are you watching me now?_ Moonstar lifted her head to the sky to stare at the comings of the heavenly warriors of Silverpelt. She shook her head and padded across the log as the last of her clanmates leaped off the other side. Moonstar noticed that RiverClan and WindClan were already there and ThunderClan was just behind them, ShadowClan was late.

After several long moments, ShadowClan were safely across the tree bridge. Moonstar bunched her muscles to leap to the lowest branch. She saw surprise flicker across the faces of the other leaders and she scrambled up the trunk of the tall tree, landing steadily in her spot.

She gazed out among all the other clans and started a little as Mistystar let out a yowl that started the gathering.

"RiverClan will start with their report," she rasped, "New-leaf has been plentiful with us and we have had plenty of fish in the streams." Moonstar noticed for the first time how elderly Mistystar looked. _She must not have plenty of lives left…_ "RiverClan is well." Mistystar finished.

Rowanstar stepped forward. "ShadowClan has also been plentiful," his voice rang through the clearing, "we have a new apprentice, Applepaw." ShadowClan raised their voices calling out the young apprentice's name while cats from other clans called out the name as well. "Our warrior, Tawnypelt, is experiencing whitecough, but she is recovering quickly and none of our other clan members have caught it. Our medicine cat apprentice, Silverpool, has now become a full medicine cat as Littlecloud has died." The cats in the clearing hung their heads. "Other than that, ShadowClan is getting along perfectly." Bramblestar dipped his head.

"Thank you, Rowanstar," he meowed, "for it is a sad thing when a clanmate dies. ThunderClan is fine when it comes to prey, and the territory is coming back nicely." His gaze swept across the clearing to a ginger she-cat with bright green eyes. "My mate, Squirrelflight, is working on her second litter of kits. Maplefur and Sunpelt are commendable warriors and work hard for their clan, and I am happy to report that I will have more kits that will also become respectful warriors." The cats below cheered for Squirrelflight. "We also have four new apprentices, Gingerpaw, Frostypaw, Fernpaw, and Ravenpaw. All is well."

Harestar stepped forward, swaying awkwardely on the branch. "WindClan has been experiencing difficulties," the she-cat meowed, "but nothing we can't handle. We noticed a stray dog scent on our territory," she added with an accusing look at Moonstar, "a dog scent that shouldn't be appearing in our part of land. What we scented was a wolf." Shocked gasps emitted from the cats below. "But it seemed somewhat stale, so we let it pass. We have two new apprentices, Specklepaw and Oakpaw." Yowls in the clearing welcomed the two cats whose pelts looked ruffled with pride and eyes shining with joy. "WindClan is well." She stepped backward in order for Moonstar to begin her report.

"NightClan is coming along fine," she nervously mewed, "though since my father, Nightstar, died, we have been mourning." Cats in the clearing from all clans hung their heads. "But nothing we cannot handle." She continued. "We have two new warriors, Lilyshine and Gingertail."

"Lilyshine! Gingertail!" was the response.

Moonstar spoke again once the cheers had ebbed away. "But tonight I will be addressing something of more importance than new warriors." She hesitated. _Oh StarClan, should I do this?_ She shook away the doubt and continued. "Harestar mentioned a wolf scent in her territory. I have reason to tell you that I have found the wolf in which the scent belongs to." Gasps erupted from the cats below but Moonstar hushed them with a raise of her tail. "His name is Black Wolf, he was raised with other cats in his twoleg den so he understands us. He told me that his twoleg didn't want him anymore and was going to send him away to a place that would kill him in two days time. He called the place the pound. With rules that he promised to follow, we welcomed him into our camp and he is now a full fledged NightClan warrior."

Yowls and caterwauls of protest rose up among the crowd.

"Ha! Just like NightClan! Welcoming any scrap of crow-food they can get!"

"I knew that we shouldn't have let that band of rogues become a clan!"

The cats from NightClan, ruffled and claws unsheathed, were bristling with fury. Several of them spat at the other clans, threatening to spring if they took another step forward. Moonstar looked up at the moon. Clouds were beginning to drift in front. " _Stop!_ " she yowled. The cries of disgust and threat died down. "Remember the _truce!_ " Moonstar spat out the last word, eyes glittering crimson.

The clearing fell silent. No noise rose up except the crickets in the midst of the trees surrounding the island.

"You should be ashamed!" Moonstar snarled. "What if _your_ leaders found a way to make your clan stronger? Would they pass it up?" When no cat spoke, Moonstar let her eyes shift back to icy blue. "Now, if you must know, Black Wolf has not been breaking any rules and seems to be following his word. Might I add that this could be a benefit for you, for if Black Wolf turns against his word he would undoubtedly do much damage to my clan." The cats murmured among themselves as if wondering whether to agree or not. "I have nothing else to report. This gathering is at an end."

Bramblestar, Rowanstar, Harestar, and Mistystar jumped from their branches and landed lightly among the roots, gathering together their clans. Moonstar leaped down as well, beckoning to Leopardbeat with her tail.

Bramblestar approached her cautiously. "Moonstar," he began, "don't you think that a gathering is not the appropriate time to unleash your power?" Moonstar stifled a gasp. He had been the one to understand her power, but his words stung her like a bee.

"I just get angry sometimes," she hissed, "it's not like I conquered the world. Didn't you notice the clouds covering the moon? StarClan was angry. Someone had to do _something_." Bramblestar only nodded and turned away to his own clan.

Moonstar turned, still upset by Bramblestar's response. _I guess there really_ is _no such thing as friends from_ _different clans_. But before Moonstar gathered her clan, she was bumped into by two warriors. _ShadowClan_. She thought. She scented their stink as they scrambled to get a grip on the slippery grass.

"Moonbound… er, Moonstar?" one meowed.

Moonstar whipped her head around to see which one of these warriors was so disrespectful as to call her Moon _bound._

"Who-." She stopped herself. Something about these two warriors reminded her of two apprentices she'd met long ago. _Toadclaw and Patchyfur!_ She remembered Rowanstar announce the two warriors' names at a past gathering when her father was still clan leader. Patchyfur was a white she-cat with grey and ginger patches along her back side, while Toadclaw was a grey tom cat with a white face, belly, legs, and tail tip. "Toadclaw, Patchyfur!" she purred.

"Moonstar!" Toadclaw repeated. He stepped forward and touched his muzzle to her ear as Patchyfur did the same. "It's good to see you again. I see those powers are still working!" Moonstar stiffened, but then relaxed as she realized that Toadclaw's eyes were filled with nothing but amusement.

"Yes well," she mewed, "someone has to keep the rowdy cats in order." Happily, Moonstar waved her tail goodbye to the ShadowClan warriors. _I'm glad they don't hate me for my abilities._ She thought as she left.

 **Awwww! Old meet ups with old friends! Too bad they're rivals. (Shrugs) Oh well!**


	8. Notice!

**Notice!**

 **This isn't a chapter. I'm sorry that I didn't end up getting a chapter out Dec. 26, but I actually didn't get the laptop back until Dec. 27, so I couldn't have. But why have I not gotten out a chapter yet? Guys, I am working on it, but I am SERIOUSLY going through a writer's block. I'm literally SO stressed out about school. I have a LOT to do, and I'm always worrying that I won't get it done in time. Oh my GOIHD! I have so much work.**

 **Anyway, I will be trying my hardest to get ideas and write them down in the chapter, but it's hard to constantly write chapters. I LOVE writing, but sometimes I need to take a break. I'm not going to set a specific date, but you can definitely predict a chapter by February. However, that doesn't mean that I won't be getting a chapter before then. Now I can't promise it, but I think I'll be able to get a chapter out before then.**

 **Bye guys!**

 **Sincerely, Kristianna**


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